New Hire Roundup: Aberdeen Adds NYC Office

New York Life announced Monday that John Fleurant has been promoted to deputy chief financial officer, a new position. He will report to Michael Sproule, executive vice president and CFO. Fleurant will also retain his current roles as senior vice president of finance and controller, positions he has occupied since joining the company in 2010.

Immediately prior to joining the company, Fleurant served as controller at Prudential Financial. After joining Prudential in 1995, he held positions of increasing responsibility, including chief financial officer for domestic businesses. Before that, he was a senior manager for Deloitte & Touche, where he spent nine years.

Commonfund Names Eric Kolts Managing Director in Commodities Group

Commonfund recently announced the appointment of Eric Kolts as managing director in its commodities group. In this newly created position, he will participate in the development of new commodities strategies, as well as work alongside Commonfund’s account-specific relationship officers. He will be based in Wilton, Conn., and report to Tyler Stevens, managing director, commodities group.

Prior to joining, Kolts was head of global marketing and sales, Merit Commodity Partners (Global Commodity Finance), New York City and Dubai. Previously, he served as vice president—product manager, commodity indices at Standard & Poor’s.  He was also a director at Dow Jones Indices.

Citi Private Bank Adds Ahrens in Palo Alto

Citi Private Bank announced that Gil Ahrens has joined the firm’s Palo Alto office as director and UHNW private banker. He will report to Lisa Roberts, northern California region executive.

Ahrens joins from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Palo Alto, where he was most recently a director in the firm’s private wealth management group working with a broad network of venture capital and investment banking clients. Prior to his wealth management role, Mr. Ahrens had been with JPMorgan since 2007 as managing director, head of venture coverage. He previously spent eight years at Piper Jaffray & Co.; three years before that at Cowen & Co. as an investment banker; and began his career at Sanyo Electric Co. in 1991 in strategic planning.

ICI Names Mike McNamee Chief Public Communications Officer

The Investment Company Institute has named Mike McNamee its chief public communications officer. In his new role, he will be responsible for all media and public relations, public policy writing, editorial, website, and design activities, and for the ICI Education Foundation. He will report to ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens and replaces F. Gregory Ahern, who held the post for the past eight years.

Previously, McNamee was senior director, policy writing and editorial. He joined ICI in 2006 as director, media relations. Prior to joining ICI, he was deputy Washington bureau chief at BusinessWeek, where he had held numerous positions during his long tenure there. He also worked as Washington economics correspondent for The Dallas Morning News, economics reporter at USA Today, and business editor of The Indianapolis Star. As a journalist, McNamee made frequent broadcast appearances as a commentator on financial and economic issues. Lori Stafford-Thomas Joins Jackson National Life

Jackson National Life Insurance Co. announced Monday that Lori Stafford-Thomas has joined the company’s corporate communications team as director of external communications. In her new role, she will oversee the media relations and external outreach efforts of Jackson and its affiliates, including National Planning Holdings and Curian Capital. She will also be responsible for maintaining and enhancing the corporate image of the company and its subsidiaries. She is based in Denver and will report to Matt Gonring, vice president of corporate communications.

Stafford-Thomas has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communications. Prior to joining, she held the positions of assistant vice president of strategic marketing and communications and AVP of corporate communications at Fiserv. She has also headed the communication departments at Modine Manufacturing Co. and Sports Buff Promotions. Earlier, she was a television anchor for nine years with WISN-TV (ABC) in Milwaukee.

Read the Oct. 10 New Hire Roundup at AdvisorOne.