The 9 biggest announcements from life and health insurers this week

"It's an opportunity for us to connect with our policyholders and producers. But our most important mission is to tell our policyholders 'thank you' for entrusting us with their money. It makes our work a whole lot more meaningful when we see and visit with the people who are depending on us to keep their retirement money safe," said Ron Grensteiner, president of the company.

MassMutual Retirement Services has appointed eight new sales representatives to support financial advisors as they serve the needs of plan sponsors in the emerging, institutional and employee benefits marketplaces. The appointments include six new managing directors (MDs) and two new business development managers (BDMs), bringing the number of MassMutual retirement plan sales professionals to 84.

The new managing directors and their territories are as follows:

• • Scott Adams: Supports Institutional Markets and works with Emerging Markets Managing Director Jason Potter, covering the Rocky Mountain Region of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Adams previously was a vice president of sales for Lockton Retirement Services. He has 18 years of experience supporting retirement plans.

  • Joe Amaya: Is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and partners with institutional markets' managing director Daniel Darby. Amaya will support emerging market sales for Western Michigan. Previously, Amaya was regional vice president for John Hancock in Milwaukee, Wis. He earned his B.A. from Arizona State University and holds Series 7 and 63 registrations.

  • Marc Doucette: Based in Glastonbury, Conn., Doucette will partner with emerging markets managing directors Rod Toppin, Will Deyoung, John Cunningham and Scott Littlewood, and will support institutional market plan sales for Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, Vermont and upstate New York. Doucette is a 20-year veteran of Prudential Retirement and CIGNA. Marc earned a B.A. from Central Connecticut State University and holds Series 7, 26 and 63 registrations.

  • David Eliopulos: Based in Bend, Ore., Eliopulos will partner with institutional markets managing director Molly Knapp and will support emerging market plan sales for Oregon and Vancouver, Wash. Previously, Eliopulos was regional sales director for Paychex, Inc. He earned a B.A. from University of San Diego and holds Series 6 and 63 registrations.

  • J.T. Gallinaro: Will partner with institutional markets managing director Jenny Dodson, supporting emerging market sales for independent financial advisors and benefit agents in Greater Houston. Gallinaro previously held positions at Lincoln Financial and John Hancock in their retirement plan services groups. He graduated from Villanova University with a B.S.B.A. and holds Series 7 and 63 registrations.

  • Thad Letzer: Letzer partners with institutional markets managing director Francesca Messano, and will support emerging market sales for eastern Los Angeles. Letzer was most recently the regional sales director for Paychex, Inc. He earned his B.A. from California State – Northridge and holds Series 6 and 63 registrations.

The new business development managers and their territories are as follows:

• • Rob Dziema: Was named BDM for the central division covering Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan (upper peninsula), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Dziema, who previously served on MassMutual Retirement Services sales desk, has been in the financial services industry for 16 years. He earned his B.S. from Marist College and holds Series 6, 26 and 63 registrations.

  • Raul Vargas: Will support four MDs in Florida and covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Based in Orlando, Raul has been with MassMutual since 2012, serving the Florida market as a Retirement Education Specialist and has been in the financial services industry for 13 years. Vargas earned two bachelor's degrees from Florida Atlantic University and a MBA from American Intercontinental University. He holds Series 7 and 63 registrations, and the Certified Retirement Counselor designation. 

New York Life announced that senior vice president Carla Rutigliano has been recognized in the 14th Annual Women Worth Watching® issue of Profiles in Diversity Journal. The women recognized by this national publication were nominated by their colleagues, peers, and mentors for their initiative and achievements. The list highlights women who are using their influence to change our workplaces and our world. Carla Rutigliano is senior vice president and chief of staff to New York Life Chairman and CEO Ted Mathas. In her role, Rutigliano ensures the oversight and coordination of key strategic initiatives in the office of the chairman and CEO, and provides a link between the Chairman's office and all other business areas within the company as well as with external organizations. In addition to these responsibilities, she provides senior executive oversight to the New York Life Foundation.

Rutigliano joined New York Life in 2001 in the Office of Governmental Affairs where she represented the company in both state legislative and regulatory matters. Prior to New York Life, she was an assistant attorney general in the New York State Office of the Attorney General, an assistant corporation counsel for the City of Syracuse Office of the Corporation Counsel, and an intern and staffer for New York State Assemblyman, Paul Harenberg. Rutigliano holds a J.D. from Albany Law School at Union University and a B.A. in Political Science from SUNY Albany.

In other New York Life news, the company announced that over the summer all four major rating agencies have affirmed the company's highest possible ratings for financial strength, with a stable outlook. Fitch Ratings affirmed the company's financial strength rating of AAA,its highest possible rating, on August 11, 2015. On August 6, Moody's affirmed its highest financial strength rating, Aaa, on New York Life.  Also, this past July, A.M. Best affirmed its A++ (superior) financial strength rating on New York Life, its highest possible rating, and Standard & Poor's affirmed New York Life's top rating for life insurers in June. All four rating agencies maintained their stable outlook on New York Life's ratings.

Northwestern Mutual announced that Scott Butler, a wealth management advisor and managing director of the financial security company's Rockville, Md., office, has been named chairman of the Howard Hospital Foundation's board of trustees.Butler recently began his appointment as chairman. Prior to that, he served as vice chairman, and Butler has been on the board for the past four years, also serving as chairman of the foundation's annual Benefit Golf Classic, as well as on numerous board committees.The Howard Hospital Foundation's board of trustees guides the organization's efforts to raise and manage funds for Howard County General Hospital in Columbia, Md.