NAFA Welcomes 2025 Board of Directors

Washington, DC, January 13, 2025 --(PR.com)-- The general membership of NAFA, the National Association for Fixed Annuities, approved the slate of candidates presented for its 2025 board of directors at the association’s annual meeting held recently in Dallas, Texas. Nominations were received from the membership at large, and candidates were vetted by the current board before being proposed during the association’s 16th annual Annuity Distribution Summit.

By unanimous decision, five new members will join forces with current board leadership to help leverage industry momentum and pursue a strategic path for meaningful growth. Collaboration among the board, NAFA staff, NAFA’s volunteer committees and the membership at large will allow the association to identify avenues for amplifying the association’s value, deepening its educational offerings to a broad swath of stakeholders, and effectively strengthening a future-ready industry workforce. This will ensure NAFA is well positioned to continue promoting and protecting fixed annuities and independent distribution, which are critical for helping Main Street Americans retire more securely.

Newly appointed board members include Bryce Biklen of North American Company for Life & Health, Tom Bumbolow of American Life & Security Corp., Sarah Garrity of BlackRock, Jamie Kosharek of Global Atlantic Financial Group, and Ann Raible of Nationwide.

David Wolfe of Advisors Excel will assume the role of chairman of the board of directors, taking over for immediate past chair Kevin Mechtley of North American Company for Life & Health. Andrew Payne of CreativeOne will roll up to vice chair and Eric Taylor of Corebridge Financial to secretary, while Dan Acker of SILAC Insurance Company was elected to join the executive operating committee as its newly appointed treasurer.

“NAFA is emerging from a year that was intensely focused on litigating against the Department of Labor to ensure everyday retirement savers can benefit from the value of fixed and fixed indexed annuities. Amidst persistent inflation and continued uncertainty, fixed annuity sales surged to record levels in 2024 as a growing number of agents helped clients position these products strategically for diversification, protection, accumulation and the ability to generate income for life,” said Chuck DiVencenzo, NAFA president and CEO. “With this new year brings a renewed sense of commitment to our work. Our board is comprised of passionate, knowledgeable and forward thinkers who envision strengthening our association’s ability to advocate, educate and integrate across the industry. Together we’ll work closely to ensure NAFA is well positioned to thrive not only now but into 2030 and beyond.”

Newly elected members join a board roster that currently includes: Jeff Barnes of EquiTrust, Jay Brown of Delaware Life Marketing, Emily Cramer of Simplicity Group, Jill Esser of Magellan Financial, Tad Fifer of AmeriLife, Paul Garofoli of The Standard, Jason Gould of Carlton Fields, Matt Johnson of American Equity, Paul Kruth of W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc., Ryan Lex of Ibexis Life and Annuity Insurance Company, Luke Loewen of Gradient Annuity Brokerage, Branislav Nikolic of The Index Standard, Brian Peterson of AmeriLife, Rocky Robbins of Brokers International and Mike Tripses of Annua Profectus.

On behalf of the NAFA staff, board and membership at large, DiVencenzo recognized the contributions of exiting board members Maureen James of Summit Compliance Group, Brendon Kelly of Ash Brokerage, Darcy Matz of Allianz, Tiya Stanley of F&G Life & Annuities and Igor Zamkovsky of BlackRock. These individuals received commemorative plaques in gratitude for sharing their time and talent.

About NAFA
NAFA, the National Association for Fixed Annuities, is the premier trade association exclusively dedicated to fixed annuities. Our mission is to promote the awareness and understanding of fixed annuities. We educate annuity salespeople, regulators, legislators, journalists, and industry personnel about the value of fixed annuities and their benefits to consumers. NAFA’s membership represents every aspect of the fixed annuity marketplace covering fixed annuities sold by independent agents, advisors and brokers. NAFA was founded in 1998. For more information, visit www.nafa.com.