Protective Life launches new variable annuity series

At its recent meeting, the National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA) elected its 2014 board of directors:

• Chip Anderson of Creative Marketing is the incoming chairman, replacing Bob Phillips of Alternative Brokerage. The board also elected the following officers: S. Christopher Johnson of National Western as vice chair, Nathan Zuidema of Imeriti Financial Network serving as secretary and Brian D. Mann of Partners Elite Advisory Group as treasurer.
• Newly elected board members include Dominic Cursio of Collabrix, Rod Mims of Athene Annuity & Life, John E. Orrell of Brokers International, Harry N. Stout of Insurance Insight Group and Eric Taylor of Genworth Financial. They join existing directors Gayle Allen of North American Company for Life and Health, Tony Compton of Gradient Financial Group, Mike Ebmeier of Forethought Financial Group, Kris Kattmann of Lincoln Financial Group, Jim Maietta of Allianz Life Financial Services, Jeanne Taylor of EquiTrust Life and Brian Williams of FIG Marketing.
• Committee chairs for 2014 are: Education Committee, Roger Bell of Success CE; Government Relations Committee, Beth Lindsay of ING; Insurance Marketing Advisory Committee, Kevin Meyer of Dressander BHC; Membership Committee, Gayle Allen of North American Company for Life and Health; and Program Committee Chair, Janet Terpening of Creative Marketing.

For the 18th consecutive year, Northwestern Mutual has been cited in the Vault Guide’s top 10 internship programs in the U.S. The company was ranked sixth on the list and number two in the banking/finance category.

To compose the list, Vault.com surveys thousands of current and former interns and evaluates hundreds of internship programs. Among the factors considered are: mentorship availability, career advancement opportunities, intern involvement/capacity for learning, compensation, industry clout and work culture.

In the past eight years, Northwestern Mutual’s internship program has grown from 1,000 to more than 3,400 interns annually. About one-third of the interns in the year-long program go on to become full-time employees at Northwestern, according to a company statement.