New Hires Roundup: BlackRock Adds Taborsky; Fisher Goes to Touchstone; Harris myCFO Appoints Lee

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN) recently announced that William Harding has been named head of manager research for the Morningstar Investment Management division. In this new position, he will be responsible for promoting best practices in investment manager research and selection, and will report to Thomas Idzorek, chief investment officer and research director for the Morningstar Investment Management division.

Previously, Harding was director of research for Morningstar Investment Services (MIS), a registered investment advisor within the Morningstar Investment Management division. Harding joined Morningstar in 1999 as a mutual fund analyst and was named director of research for MIS in 2006.

Penn Mutual Names Kevin Reynolds SVP, Chief Legal Officer

The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. announced Wednesday that Kevin T. Reynolds has been named senior vice president and chief legal officer. Reynolds will be responsible for overseeing the legal, regulatory and compliance functions and employment-related matters for Penn Mutual/PIA, Hornor, Townsend and Kent, Inc., ICMI and Penn Series Funds. He will also serve as an advisor to the company’s business areas.

Reynolds came to Penn Mutual from the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, where he was vice president, counsel and chief compliance officer. Before Guardian, he was an associate with Mendes & Mount in New York City, and an associate at Kelly, Rode, Kelly & Burke in Westbury, New York.

Dan Meader to Chair CFA Institute Board of Governors

The CFA Institute announced Wednesday that Dan S. Meader had been elected chair of its board of governors. Meader began his one-year term on September 1. The founder and managing partner of Trinity Private Equity Group, LP, an investment advisory and private equity investment firm located in Southlake, Texas, Meader now heads an 18-member board of governors composed of investment professionals from nine countries: Canada, China, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., and the U.S. He succeeds Margaret Franklin, CFA, president of Kinsale Wealth Management in Toronto, Canada. Franklin will continue to serve on the board as immediate past chair.

In addition to Meader’s appointment, Alan M. Meder has been elected as vice chair. Meder is a senior vice president of Chicago-based Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. He is the chief risk officer and the principal financial officer of three investment companies.

Institute for Private Investors Appoints Kumar, Sutherland

The Institute for Private Investors (IPI) announced Wednesday the appointment of Vijay Kumar as director of membership, to be based in New York, and Pete Sutherland as associate director of the San Francisco office.

Kumar will oversee all aspects of membership, focusing on both securing partnerships in the advisor community and working directly with private investors. She was also named to the newly created position of commercial director, North America, for Campden Media, IPI’s parent company. She brings 15 years of experience working directly with chief executives of public and private companies.

Previously, she was chief executive of VRK Consulting, Inc., where she focused on assisting clients to expand their business through global partnerships and strategic alliances while strengthening their corporate social responsibility. Prior to that, she managed the membership of The Hudson New York Briefing Council for Hudson Institute, a nonpartisan public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Sutherland joined IPI after serving as a consultant with the company. In this position, he will lead membership development and expand market presence in the western U.S. A Bay area resident for 25 years, he will reach out to all members in the region. Prior to joining IPI, Sutherland served as chief operating officer of the USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Museum, and at the senior management level of several museums in the Bay Area.

MDRT Names Borislow President, Promotes Stahr to CEO

The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) announced Sept. 1 that Jennifer A. Borislow of the Borislow Insurance Agency in Methuen, Mass. is the new president, succeeding Julian H. Good Jr. of MetLife/Creative Financial Solutions in New Orleans, La. Good will complete his five-year term on the executive committee as immediate past president. Borislow has been a member of MDRT for 23 years and is a four-year member of the executive committee.

The organization also announced recently the promotion of Stephen P. Stahr to chief executive officer. In that post, he will be responsible for managing all staff and administration of MDRT, as well as serving as the liaison to the executive committee and overseeing staff implementation of policy decisions. He began his career at MDRT in 1990 as a public relations coordinator, and was appointed public relations director in 1997, managing director in 2007 and chief operating officer in 2010.

James Dornan Joins ASPPA Government Affairs Team

The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) announced on Sept. 1 the addition of James E. Dornan to their team as political director. Dornan joins ASPPA from Artemis Strategies, where he was senior vice president handling political consulting services.

Dornan has over 20 years in the political arena ranging from running numerous Congressional and statewide political races from Florida to Washington state, to working on Capitol Hill for six different members of Congress and holding various other consulting and management positions in the government sector. He is also a guest lecturer at universities and programs such as George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, the University of Notre Dame’s Washington program, the Close-Up Foundation, and the Fund for American Studies’ Institute for American Journalism.