Tennessee Has a New Insurance Division Head: Personnel Matters

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has hired Jean LaTorre to be executive vice president and chief investment officer.

LaTorre previously was the chief investment officer and corporate economist Aetna. She also led Aetna's pensions business and chaired Aetna Capital Management, Aetna's hedge fund.

LaTorre has a bachelor's degree in business and English from the State University of New York at Albany and a master's degree in business from New York University.

She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst professional designation.

First Financial Resources of Vine, California, has name Mike Bell to be the firm's president.

Bell previously was a consultant at the firm. He has also been executive vice president of the life insurance division at Pacific Life.

Judd Imhoff continues to be the chief executive officer of the independent insurance distribution organization.

In related news, First Financial Resources has hired Michael Babikian to be the chief operating officer.

Babikian is the founder and chairman of LegacyShield, an online legacy planning and personal records storage service.

Babikian has also been the president and chief executive officer of Transamerica Brokerage.

Earlier, he was an executive at Advanced Marketing.

Simplicity Group Holdings of Summit, New Jersey, has hired Emily Cramer to be vice president of business development.

She previously was vice president of distribution at Unkefer & Associates.

Cramer has a bachelor's degree in communications from California University of Pennsylvania.

Spearhead, a Wellington, Florida-based company that helps wealthy investors and family offices with private placement life insurance, private placement annuities, and asset management, has opened an office in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Spearhead has named James Hickey to be the office leader. He will also be the managing director of alternative asset management strategies and head portfolio manager for the Spearhead life settlements division.

Hickey previously was chief investment strategist for HD Vest, an independent broker-dealer and registered investment advisor.

Before that, Hickey developed life settlement fund businesses for RiverRock Securities LLC and for FDO Partners.

Hickey has a bachelor's degree from Harvard and a master's degree in business from Wharton. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst professional designation.

The Charlestown office staff will also include:

• Corey McLaren, who will be the director of alternative strategies and head of sourcing and origination for Spearhead's life settlements division. He previously was director for Hilliard Management LLC and the Fayerweather Street Life Settlement fund series.
• Steve Smith, who will be a life settlements division contract analyst. He previously was a life settlements contract analyst at Hilliard Management.
• Jake Glovin, who will be a life settlements division pricing analyst. Glovin previously was a life settlements pricing analyst at Hilliard Management.

CORRECTION: The first name of the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance was misspelled in an earlier version of this article. His name is Hodgen Mainda.

— Read Talcott Hires a J.P. Morgan Dealmaker: Personnel Matters, on ThinkAdvisor.

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