Retirement Industry Deals and People Moves – 1/23/2026

Kestra Financial Names New Head of Advanced Planning

Christine E. Brown

The wealth management platform Kestra Financial Inc. appointed Christine E. Brown as head of advanced planning.

Brown will lead a team dedicated to supporting financial advisers and their wealth management planning clients. A licensed attorney in California, Brown has more than two decades of experience advising ultra-high-net-worth families on sophisticated wealth transfer strategies, trust administration and estate planning.

“I’m excited to join Kestra Financial to lead its advanced planning initiatives,” Brown said in a statement. “Advanced planning is one of the most powerful ways advisers can help clients achieve their long-term goals, and I appreciate Kestra’s deep commitment to equipping its advisers with the tools and expertise they need to succeed.”

OneDigital Names 3 New Leaders

The insurance brokerage Digital Insurance LLC, better known as

Bill Carew

OneDigital, promoted Bill Carew to president and Camry Blaising to chief operating officer, effective immediately. Additionally, Erica Zinkie was promoted to executive vice president of legal and compliance, reporting to Chief Financial Officer Chuck Ristau.

Carew will report to Chairman and CEO Adam Bruckman and oversee OneDigital’s regional operations and platform-level businesses, with a focus on scale, performance and client impact. Carew joined OneDigital through the acquisition of Ovation Benefits in 2013 and has been the chief operating officer since 2019. As COO, he led the alignment of multiple business lines.

Camry Blaising

Blaising will report to Carew, oversee day-to-day operations and lead OneDigital’s core national practices. Blaising joined the firm in 2019 through the acquisition of Northwestern Benefit, a Georgia-based agency, where she served as COO. Since joining OneDigital, Blaising has been a member of the firm’s senior leadership team, leading initiatives that strengthened national practices, enhanced operational capabilities and supported growth across the organization.

MissionSquare Hires 2 for Managed Accounts Team

MissionSquare Retirement announced two strategic hires supporting the firm’s growing focus on its managed accounts program, Guided Pathways Advisory Services. Adam Harris, director of managed accounts operations and strategic growth, and

Adam Harris

Jacob Dreiling, a senior product analyst, have joined MissionSquare’s managed accounts team, reporting to Jason White, head of Guided Pathways Advisory Services.

Harris is responsible for developing and expanding the advisory services program, including the introduction of new offerings. Prior to joining MissionSquare, Harris served as head of Investments at Advice by Athena, where he developed proprietary methodology including retirement and wealth risk frameworks, capital market assumptions, asset allocation optimization, glide-path design and fund screening models. He previously held investment product and analyst roles at Empower and GreatWest.

Jacob Dreiling

Dreiling is guiding product development and ensuring MissionSquare’s managed accounts align with customer needs and business goals. His work supports user experience, business objectives and product evolution. Dreiling joined MissionSquare from Fidelity, where he served as managing director working, with plan sponsors, advisers and third-party administrators on retirement strategy and product adoption. He brings more than 10 years of experience in investment analysis, product testing and advisory collaboration.

MissionSquare manages and administers more than $73 billion in assets, as of December 31, 2025.

Head of T. Rowe Price Investment Management Set to Retire

T. Rowe Price Group Inc. announced a planned leadership transition within its investment management division. Steph Jackson, head of TRPIM and a member of the management committee, will retire at the end of 2026.

Since joining T. Rowe Price in 2007, Jackson held influential roles, including portfolio specialist; director of research for the equity associate analyst program; director of research for the European equity research team; and associate head of U.S. equity. Most notably, Jackson was pivotal in the establishment of TRPIM in 2022.

Effective January 22, 2026, Steven Krichbaum will assume the role of associate head of TRPIM and will succeed Jackson as head of TRPIM on January 1, 2027. He will serve on the firm’s management committee and report to Eric Veiel, head of global investments and CIO.

Krichbaum, who joined T. Rowe Price in 2006, brings nearly two decades of investment, leadership and commercial experience. His career includes roles as analyst, associate portfolio manager and head of strategic initiatives, and he made significant contributions to TRPIM’s creation. Most recently, Krichbaum served as TRPIM director of equity and fixed-income research. Krichbaum will work closely with Jackson throughout 2026.

TRPIM has $1.78 trillion in client assets, as of December 31, 2025, about two-thirds of which are related to retirement.

Norm Law Appoints 3 Partners

Norm Law LLP, an “artificial intelligence-native” law firm built for global institutional clients, appointed Mike Schmidtberger as chairman, partner and head of the firm’s investment funds and regulatory practice. The firm also named David Sorin as partner and head of private equity and venture capital and Mike Rupe as partner and head of private credit and business development.

Schmidtberger joins Norm Law from Sidley Austin LLP, where he spent the past 35 years. Previously, he was co-head of Sidley’s investment funds practice and managing partner of the New York office. From 2018 through April 2025, Schmidtberger served as chair of the firm’s executive committee, during which time Sidley doubled annual revenue to $4 billion from $2 billion. At Norm Law, Schmidtberger will work closely with clients, legal engineers and AI engineers, as well as help guide the firm’s long-term strategy.

“When I saw Norm Law’s approach of seamlessly integrating [its] AI agent platform, legal engineers, AI engineers and attorneys, I knew this was the ideal approach and incredibly unique,” Schmidtberger said in a statement.

Sorin will lead Norm Law’s private equity and venture capital practice. He previously served as a partner in WilmerHale and brings decades of experience across venture financings, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions. Sorin founded the law firm SorinRand, which he merged with McCarter & English in 2014, where he became managing partner of the East Brunswick office and head of the venture capital and early-stage practice. In 2022, he and his team moved to Brown Rudnick, where he served as global co-chair of the technology group, then departed last year to focus on emerging business and client service models shaped by AI, which ultimately led him to Norm Law.

Rupe will lead Norm Law’s private credit practice and oversee business development as the firm deepens relationships with asset managers and alternative investment platforms. He has more than 25 years of experience advising private credit funds, financial institutions and alternative capital providers in complex transactions and special situations. He previously led the financial restructuring practice at King & Spalding, where he expanded the firm’s global footprint and served as the primary legal relationship partner for major private credit platforms. In 2022, he joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to lead its special situations practice before joining Norm Law.