Jasmine Jirele to Lead Allianz Life: Personnel Moves

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Allianz SE has named Jasmine Jirele to be the next president and CEO of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. She will take over as head of the Minneapolis-based based Allianz arm after Walter White, the current CEO, retires on Dec. 31.

Jirele has been Allianz Life’s chief growth officer since 2018.

She got her start in insurance marketing at Securian Financial Group. She later spent four years at 3M, a giant manufacturer, and five years at Allianz Life, before heading to Wells Fargo for four years.

She was senior vice president for enterprise operations when she left Allianz Life for Wells Fargo, and she was head of customer excellence when she left Wells Fargo to rejoin Allianz.

Jirele has a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s degree in business from Hamline University.

She sits on the board of College Possible.

In other personnel moves news:

New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Cris Nicolopoulos has named Tyler Brannen Life & Health director for the New Hampshire Insurance Department.

Brannen has been with the department since 2006, and he previously was the department’s director of health economics. He started out in insurance as a managed care contractor at Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Hampshire.

Brannen attended the University of New Hampshire and Johns Hopkins.

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. a company based in New York, has hired Stacey Hoin to be executive vice president and chief human resources officer.

Hoin previously was chief human resources leader at GE Capital.

She has a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College and a law degree from Georgetown University.

She serves on the board of the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club.

Voya Financial Inc. has given four company executives new titles in connection with a realignment.

The New York-based company has named Michael Smith and Charles Nelson to be vice chairmen.

Smith has been and will continue to be the company’s chief financial officer. He now also has  responsibilities for technology, data science, transformation and real estate.

Nelson will be the company’s chief growth officer as well as a vice chairman. He has been the company’s CEO of retirement and employee benefits.

The company has named Heather Lavallee to be CEO of wealth solutions. She has been president of retirement tax-exempt markets

Robert Grubka was named CEO of health solutions. He has been president of employee benefits.

MetLife Inc. has given Dr. Cindy Pace, the company’s global chief diversity and inclusion officer, a reporting line that leads directly to the company’s CEO.

Pace has been the company’s chief diversity and inclusion officer since 2019.

Before MetLife, in 2013, Pace worked in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to MetLife, she was global director for change management at Pfizer Inc.

Pace has a bachelor’s degree from Morris Brown College, a master’s degree in business education from New York University and a doctorate in education from Columbia University.

Cigna Corp. has named Lisa Wagamon president of its Medicare Advantage plans in North Carolina and South Carolina, and it has named Robert Pettigrew president of the company’s Medicare Advantage plans in Alabama, Mississippi and northwest Florida.

Wagamon previously was senior vice president of managed care at SSM Health, in the St. Louis area.

Pettigrew previously was Cigna’s market president in the Carolinas.

SCAN Group has hired Binoy Bhansali to be corporate vice president of corporate development.

SCAN is a nonprofit, Long Beach, California-based company that runs health plans for older adults.

Bhansali previously was managing director in the health care group at Sandbox Industries, an investment company with $1.2 billion in assets under management. He started out as an investment banking analyst in the health care group at Citi.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

AmeriLife Group LLC has hired Galya Appell to be senior vice president of strategy and innovation.

AmeriLife is a Clearwater, Florida-based distributor of life, annuity, health and retirement products.

Appell previously was a partner at Boston Consulting Group.

She has a bachelor’s degree from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and a master’s degree in business from Columbia University.

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