Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) named Steve Thiel as vice president of Actuarial Reporting and Analysis.
Thiel will be responsible for timely reporting of actuarial balances while analyzing the financial performance of Allianz Life. He will oversee the delivery of key projects that drive financial stability while serving as valuation actuary, to provide ongoing assessment about the assets of the company. He reports to Neil McKay, senior vice president and chief actuary for Allianz Life.
Thiel joined Allianz Life in 2008 where he led the product management team as a senior director actuary. He oversaw the profitability of in-force business and analyzed the key drivers of product performance to support long term sustainability. He also partnered with the Operations and IT divisions to develop a platform for managing the existing in-force business. Prior to joining Allianz Life, Thiel was an assistant vice president for Sun Life Financial Inc. in Brookfield, Wis. for seven years leading the Reinsurance Finance division. He was responsible for the finance functions of the reinsurance businesses, managed reserves including sourcing and future funding, and directed asset liability and capital management. Thiel also held a role as an actuary for Allstate Insurance Company in Northbrook, Ill. for five years.
Thiel holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
In other industry news:
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) hired Edward A. Spehar as head of investor relations. In this role, he will manage and coordinate the presentation of MetLife's financial results and business strategies to the analyst and investor community. He will report to John C. R. Hele, executive vice president and chief financial officer of MetLife.
Spehar will join the company by the end of the year and succeeds John McCallion, who is becoming chief financial officer for MetLife's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Spehar joins MetLife from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he has served as a sell-side equity research analyst covering the life insurance industry for approximately 19 years. In this role, he produced fundamental equity research on the industry and covered 15 publicly-traded insurers, including MetLife, American International Group and Prudential Financial. In addition to his experience at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Spehar held similar roles at Lehman Brothers and Ameritrust.
Spehar received a bachelor's degree in management from Case Western Reserve University as well as a master's in business administration degree from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve. He is a chartered financial analyst.
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company and its business segment Great-West Retirement Services told advisors announced they will market under the Great-West Financial brand.
"We've adopted a 'branded house' so everything builds on the strength of our Great-West Financial master brand," said Joe Greene, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Great-West Financial. "The clarity of having one brand and one voice with a focused and well positioned message will help build name recognition and lessen potential confusion among customers."
The company hired 12 additional 401(k) sales directors and rolled out the first two phases of a sophisticated customer relationship management system as part of the business plan. It also introduced two new retail retirement income solutions to help bank financial advisors, independent broker dealers, and registered investment advisors meet this growing customer need.
