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Deals & People September 5, 2025
Retirement Industry Deals and People Moves – 9/5/2025
Pirrello to join DCIIA as COO in 2026; Vanguard taps Natalie Lamarque as chief legal officer; Connecticut governor appoints TRA’s Livingston to advisory board.
Reported by James Van Bramer
Pirrello to Join DCIIA as COO in 2026
Nikki Pirrello
The Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association announced that Nikki Pirrello has joined as a strategic adviser through the end of the year and will become chief operating officer in January 2026. Pirrello, who previously served as president and publisher of Pensions & Investments, will report to DCIIA President and CEO Lew Minsky. As COO, Pirrello will oversee operations, member engagement and strategic initiatives, as well as serving as executive director of the plan sponsor institute.
Vanguard Taps Natalie Lamarque as Chief Legal Officer
Natalie Lamarque will join Vanguard as chief legal officer, succeeding Tonya T. Robinson. Lamarque will be responsible for legal and compliance activities, public policy and investment management. She will also become managing director of Vanguard’s legal division, secretary of the Vanguard board of directors and secretary of the Vanguard funds.
Lamarque joins Vanguard from Principal Financial Group, where she served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary since 2022. Prior to Principal, she was the senior vice president and general counsel at New York Life Insurance Co.
Connecticut Governor Appoints TRA’s Livingston to Advisory Board
Grant Livingston
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont appointed Grant Livingston, a regional plan consultant at the Retirement Advantage Inc., to the Connecticut Retirement Security Advisory Board, which oversees the state’s MyCTSavings program. The initiative was designed to expand access to retirement plans for private sector employees without workplace options.
Livingston has nearly 40 years of financial services experience and 28 years in retirement planning, including leadership and consulting roles at Transamerica, MassMutual, First Mercantile Trust, and Wisdom Tree Asset Management. At TRA, he partners with financial advisers, retirement plan wholesalers and plan sponsors to create compliant and cost-efficient retirement plans.