Retirement Industry Deals & People Moves – 2/20/2026

Northern Trust Names Americas Head of Asset Servicing

Jessica Donohue

Northern Trust Corp. announced Wednesday the promotion of Jessica Donohue to head of asset servicing, Americas. Donohue, who joined the firm in September 2025 as global head of project management for asset servicing, will report to Clive Bellows, co-president of the business unit.

Donohue succeeds Melanie Pickett, who was named chief transformation officer following a leadership shake-up after Northern Trust Asset Servicing President Teresa Parker retired in January.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Donohue spent nearly 17 years at State Street, most recently as head of global investment insights. Her previous roles include global head of the asset owner segment and head of the global clients division.

Gimarelli Joins Sowell as Chief Development Officer

Vincent Gimarelli

Sowell Management LLC, a registered investment adviser, named Vincent Gimarelli to the newly created chief development officer role.

Gimarelli will lead Sowell’s business development and growth initiatives. He will work with Sowell’s founder and chief strategy officer, Bill Sowell, on initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions, and with Scott Dooley, managing director of investment management, to improve the Sowell turnkey asset management program and investment management platform.

Gimarelli brings more than 30 years of experience in wealth management, specializing in the RIA sector, M&A strategy, and adviser and client advocacy. He most recently served as institutional sales and consulting director at AssetMark and previously was principal of Hemispheres Consulting.

World Investment Advisors Taps Sheftic as Chief Growth Officer

Jeffrey Sheftic

World Investment Advisors, a division of World Insurance Associates LLC, selected Jeffrey Sheftic as chief growth officer.

Sheftic will lead the firm’s adviser recruiting, organic growth initiatives, relationship management and strategic expansion, with a focus on strengthening adviser partnerships in retirement and wealth management.

Sheftic has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience in wealth management. Before joining World Investment Advisors, he held senior leadership roles at Prudential Financial Inc., Charles Schwab & Co., ADP Inc., Credit Suisse Group, Capital One Financial Corp. and Lincoln Financial Group.

AE Wealth Appoints Larson as President

Shannon Larson

AE Wealth Management LLC announced that Shannon Larson joined the firm as president. Larson succeeds Chris Radford, who stepped away from the role in June 2025.

Larson brings more than 25 years of experience serving independent financial professionals, most recently at Osaic, where she held executive leadership roles in distribution, marketing, platform management and product development. Prior to Osaic, she held leadership roles at Cetera Financial Group, Eaton Vance, Fisher Investments and LPL Financial Holdings Inc.