Retirement Industry Deals and People Moves – 12/5/2025

DPL Names Tom McCarthy Chief Distribution Officer

DPL Financial Partners, an annuity and insurance platform for registered investment advisers, appointed Tom McCarthy as chief distribution officer.

McCarthy will lead sales and distribution for the firm and work on advisory-centric insurance, structured solutions and enterprise-level adoption across RIAs and wealth management companies.

Prior to joining DPL, McCarthy served as executive vice president and head of wealth sales at Orion Advisor Solutions. He also spent more than 20 years at AssetMark.

DPL supports a user base of 8,500 firms with a combined $3 trillion in assets under management.

Christopher Gandy Elected President of NAIFA

Christopher L. Gandy, founder and CEO of The Legacy Wealth Group LLC, was elected to serve as president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors from 2026 to 2027. He will assume the post in January 2026.

NAIFA, the oldest U.S. financial association in the United States, is headquartered in Washington and advocates at the federal and state levels to raise professional standards.

In a statement, Gandy said his election was “one of the greatest honors of [his] professional life. … My mission is to build on [NAIFA’s] legacy by championing inclusion, expanding access to financial education and preparing the next generation of professionals to lead with integrity and purpose.”

Gandy previously served as a NAIFA board secretary and board trustee and has more than two decades of experience advising high-net-worth individuals. He graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and was a former professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and teams in France before transitioning into financial services in 1999.

Wealth Consulting Group Names Jason Ehrlich as Chief Financial Officer

The Wealth Consulting Group, a hybrid registered independent adviser and wealth management platform, announced Jason Ehrlich as its new chief financial officer and head of corporate development.

Ehrlich will guide the firm’s financial strategy while leading corporate development initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and capital planning.

He has more than 15 years of experience as an investment professional and previously served as managing director and head of investments at Emigrant Partners.

Nationwide Retirement Solutions Names 2 Regional VPs

Savannah Bellamy and Sean Czepiel joined Nationwide Retirement Solutions’ emerging markets sales team as regional vice presidents. Both report to Christina Gregory, divisional vice president for Nationwide Retirement Solutions’ emerging markets sales in the east region.

Bellamy, whose experience includes a previous seven-year stint at Nationwide, leads sales efforts in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.

Czepiel, whose prior experience includes time at EZTPA and MassMutual, is focused on distribution in the New York City area and Long Island.

Nationwide Retirement Solutions, based in Columbus, Ohio, administers nearly 32,000 retirement plans with nearly $200 billion in participant assets.

Blue Ridge Associates Names Mike Vander Velde VP of Learning, Development

Blue Ridge Associates, a provider of employee stock ownership plans, retirement plan administration and compliance services, appointed Mike Vander Velde as vice president of learning and development.

Vander Velde will guide the development and execution of Blue Ridge’s enterprise-wide learning strategy as part of the company’s continued investment in learning, development and organizational growth. He will serve as the principal architect of a comprehensive learning platform designed to support leadership, professional and functional skill-building across the organization.

He has more than 24 years of experience in corporate learning solutions and leadership development across multiple industries and has implemented enterprise learning management systems, designed award-winning development programs and created leadership initiatives grounded in emotional intelligence and growth-mindset principles.