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The next chief executive officer of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company will be a Brighthouse Financial Inc. alumnus.
The board of the West Des Moines, Iowa-based annuity issuer has picked Anant Bhalla to become the company's president Jan. 27, and the company's CEO March 1.
John Matovina, the current chairman, president and CEO, will give up the title of president Jan. 27 and the CEO title March 1.
He will stay on the board after March 1 as the board's chairman, American Equity says.
Matovina has been the company's CEO since 2012.
Matovina said in a comment about Bhalla's selection, that appeared with the CEO selection announcement, that he knows Bhalla and the American Equity directors are committed to maintaining the company's strong emphasis on shareholder returns, customer and agent service, clear and transparent products and competitive rates.
Bhalla has a bachelor's degree in business from Madras University and a master's degree in business from the S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research.
His first high-level position in the U.S. financial services sector was at Ameriprise Financial Inc. He joined that company in 2001. By the time he left, in 2009, he was a vice president and head of enterprise risk management.
He later was chief risk officer at Lincoln Financial Group, chief risk officer at a unit of American International Group Inc., and chief financial officer for U.S. retail at MetLife Inc.
When Brighthouse split off from MetLife, Bhalla became the chief financial officer of Brighthouse. He left Brighthouse in March. Since then, he has been working as a life insurance investment advisor.
In other insurance industry personnel news:
Owl Insights Inc., a company in Portland, Oregon, has named Patrick Kennedy to be a strategic advisor.
Owl provides care management technology for behavioral health companies.
Kennedy is a former Democratic representative from Massachusetts, the son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, and a nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy is also the founder of the Kennedy Forum, a behavioral health nonprofit, and One Mind, a neuroscience research support organization, as a strategic advisor effective immediately.
Molina Healthcare Inc. has hired Dave Reynolds to be senior vice president of health plans, and it has named Dr. Jason Dees be executive vice president of Marketplace and the companywide chief medical officer.
The Long Beach, California-based health insurer also announced that Pam Sedmak, who has been executive vice president of health plan operations, will focus solely on revenue growth initiatives.
