Today in History for February 11th
Highlights of this day in history: South Africa frees Nelson Mandela; Allied leaders in the last months of World War II sign the Yalta accords; Ayatollah Khomeini's followers seize power in Iran; inventor Thomas Edison born. (Feb. 11)
Lansing-based Jackson Financial Inc., parent of Jackson National Life Insurance Company, received new executive leadership this week ahead of its demerger from London-based insurance company Prudential plc.
Prudential appointed Laura Prieskorn as Jackson's new CEO and Marcia Wadsten as new CFO.
Prieskorn replaced former CEO Michael Falcon, while Wadsten replaced former CFO Axel Andre.
"Michael Falcon and Axel Andre have left their respective roles as CEO and CFO, at Jackson," Prudential said Wednesday in a release. "All management changes are effective immediately."
"These leadership team appointments are the outcome of a review of Jackson’s management needs as a well capitalised, independent listed company seeking to create shareholder value," Prudential said.
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Jackson officials declined to comment further on the separations of Falcon and Andre from the company.
"We are unable to provide further comment at this time," Patrick Rich, director of external communications for Jackson, said Thursday in an email.
The change comes a month after Prudential announced that Jackson would separate from the company.
"Following completion of the separation of Jackson, Prudential will be wholly focused on its growing health & protection and savings markets in Asia and Africa," the company said in a release.
As a result, Jackson will be publically traded under its own name. The separation is expected to be performed in the first half of this year.
Prudential acquired Jackson in the mid-1980s.
Prieskorn, a 31-year company veteran, had previously served as Jackson’s executive vice president and COO.
Wadsten, a 29-year Jackson veteran, previously served as senior vice president and chief actuary.
“It is a huge privilege to become CEO of an enterprise which I have helped to grow from a modest regional firm to what it is today, an admired leader in the American annuities market," Prieskorn wrote in a statement. "The planned separation from Prudential is progressing well and we remain on track to become an independent public company by the end of the second quarter of the year."
As of 2019, Jackson employed around 2,800 people in Lansing and 4,200 nationally.
business reporter Christian Martinez at or (517) 267-1342. Follow him on Twitter at @ChristianM_CA.
Prudential PLC has moved quickly to change the senior leadership team of Jackson Financial Inc. while preparing to turn Jackson into a separate company.
The London-based life insurer — which has no connection with Prudential Financial Inc. of Newark, New Jersey — has replaced Jackson’s CEO, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, and named an interim general counsel, according to an announcement filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Laura Prieskorn, who has been Jackson’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, has taken over for Michael Falcon as CEO.
Marcia Wadsten, who was the company’s senior vice president and chief actuary, has succeeded Axel Andre as CFO.
Dev Ganguly, who has been Jackson’s senior vice president, chief information officer, has succeeded Prieskorn has the company’s COO.
Julia Goatley, who once worked for Jackson as senior vice president, insurance legal, and left the company in early 2019 will return Tuesday to be an interim general counsel. Andrew Bowden, who has been Jackson’s general counsel, is leaving Jackson, the company said.
Jackson said it’s making the changes because of a “review of Jackson’s management needs as a well-capitalized, independently listed company seeking to create shareholder value.”
Mike Wells, Prudential’s group CEO, said in a statement that Prudential is appointing an experienced leadership team with deep knowledge of the U.S. annuities market.
Prieskorn and Wadsten have both played important roles in building Prudential’s annuity operations, Wells said.
“We thank Michael and Axel for their service, and we wish them well,” Wells said.
Falcon Andre and Bowden could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Companies
Jackson Financial is the Lansing, Michigan-based holding company for Jackson National Life Insurance Company, which is one of the leaders in the U.S. annuity market.
Prudential said in January that it intends to spin Jackson Financial off, by distributing shares of Jackson Financial stock to its own shareholders, by June 30. At the same time, Prudential said that Steven Kandarian, MetLife’s former chairman, would become Jackson’s chairman.
Athene Holding Ltd., a Pembroke, Bermuda-based life and annuity reinsurer, ended up with a large stake in Jackson Financial as the result of a $27 billion annuity reinsurance deal announced in June 2020. Athene now has an 11.1% stake in Jackson, according to an announcement filed with the SEC Wednesday.
The announcement includes a comment from Marc Rowan, senior managing director of Apollo Global Management Inc., which is Athene’s largest shareholder.
“We believe that Jackson will generate significant long-term value for shareholders, and we have been working closely with Prudential in reviewing the business’ strategic priorities and management needs ahead of the planned spin-off,” Rowan said. “We look forward to working with Laura, Marcia and the team to help Jackson develop into a successful independent listed company.”
The Prudential-Jackson Separation
Prieskorn, who has been with Jackson for 31 years, said in a comment that the planned separation from Prudential is progressing well and that Jackson is on track to become an independent public company by June 30.
“Following the spin-off, Jackson will prioritize optimization of costs, capital and cash, as well as franchise value,” Prieskorn said.
December 13, 2021 06:45 AM Eastern Standard Time
LANSING, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jackson Financial Inc.1 (NYSE: JXN) (Jackson®) today announced that Scott Romine has been appointed President of Jackson National Life Distributors LLC (JNLD), the marketing and distribution business of Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Scott will also be a member of Jackson’s Executive Committee, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, Laura Prieskorn.
A 24-year Jackson veteran, Romine most recently served as President of Advisory Solutions, where he was instrumental in leading the business unit’s strategic initiatives and distribution expansion. Romine was also previously President and CEO of National Planning Holdings, Inc. (NPH), Jackson’s affiliated network of independent broker-dealers. Romine succeeds Aimee DeCamillo, Chief Commercial Officer and President of JNLD, who has departed the company.
Jackson also announced Alison Reed’s expanded role as the Chief Operating Officer of JNLD. In this role, Reed will be responsible for Distribution Services, Distribution Marketing and Product Solutions, reporting to Romine. Reed has been with Jackson almost twenty years and has worked in various leadership roles, including annuity product management and NPH.
“Scott and Alison are talented leaders who bring proven track records of driving growth and innovation,” said Prieskorn. “Their knowledge of Jackson’s products, distribution partners and our distribution organization is extensive and fully aligned with Jackson’s strategic focus of diversifying through product and distribution partner expansion.”
Prieskorn continued, “On behalf of the entire organization, I thank Aimee for her contributions to Jackson and wish her all the best in the future.”
ABOUT JACKSON
Jackson® (NYSE: JXN) is committed to helping clarify the complexity of retirement planning—for financial professionals and their clients. Our range of annuity products, financial know-how, history of award-winning service* and streamlined experiences strive to reduce the confusion that complicates retirement planning. We take a balanced, long-term approach to responsibly serving all of our stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, distribution partners, employees, regulators and community partners. We believe by providing clarity for all today, we can help drive better outcomes for tomorrow. For more information, visit www.jackson.com.
Visit //investors.jackson.com to view information regarding Jackson Financial Inc. We use this website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to our investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information.
*SQM (Service Quality Measurement Group) Contact Center Awards Program for 2004 and 2006-2020. (To achieve world-class certification, 80% or more of call-center customers surveyed must have rated their experience as very satisfied, the highest rating possible).
Jackson National Life Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jackson Financial Inc. Jackson Financial Inc. is a publicly traded company. Prudential plc and Athene Life Re Ltd. each hold a minority economic interest in Jackson Financial Inc. Prudential plc has no relation to Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Financial, Inc.
Jackson® is the marketing name for Jackson Financial Inc., Jackson National Life Insurance Company® (Home Office: Lansing, Michigan) and Jackson National Life Insurance Company of New York® (Home Office: Purchase, New York).
1 Jackson Financial Inc. is a U.S. holding company and the direct parent of Jackson Holdings LLC (JHLLC). The wholly-owned subsidiaries of JHLLC include Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Brooke Life Insurance Company, PPM America, Inc. and Jackson National Asset Management, LLC.