Empower Executive Leadership

Edmund F. Murphy III is President and Chief Executive Officer of Empower, a leading provider of financial services for consumers including retirement services, wealth management, advice, and asset management. He also serves as a board member of Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company and as a strategic advisor to Diagram Ventures.

Ed brings decades of broad leadership experience to his role. He was appointed as the inaugural President of Empower upon its formation in 2014 and has led the organization through a period of strong and sustained growth, positioning the firm as the go-to provider of financial services for more than 17 million investors.¹

Under his leadership, Empower has grown into a national leader serving working Americans through all sectors of the U.S. economy and across the spectrum of wealth segments. Empower has completed several strategic acquisitions, including the retirement businesses of J.P. Morgan, Prudential, MassMutual, Truist Bank and Fifth Third Bank. In 2020, Empower acquired Personal Capital, a registered investment adviser and wealth manager. Empower has assets under administration of more than $1.2 trillion and serves some 71,000 corporate, government and not-for-profit plans.^{1 2}

A much sought-after thought leader as an advocate for investors and the defined contribution system, Ed is regarded as a driving force for industry innovation and public policy reform. He meets regularly with policymakers in Washington, D.C., and has testified before Congress, the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department, and the IRS.

Ed speaks and writes on financial topics ranging from retirement issues and public policy to investment advice and lifetime income strategies. He has been interviewed by CNBC, Bloomberg News, MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, The Financial Times, and many other media outlets.

Under Ed’s leadership, Empower has earned multiple industry accolades. In 2020 and 2016, the firm was named Retirement Leader of the Year by Financial Advisor, and it is regularly recognized for outstanding client service, innovative product solutions and pioneering work with financial intermediaries.

Empower employs more than 12,000 associates and has been recognized for its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and community service. Ed is a founding member of Inclusive Economy, a movement focused on driving diversity, equity, and inclusion across the Colorado business community, and is a signatory to A Day for Democracy, a national effort to support voting rights. The Denver Business Journal named him a Most Admired CEO in 2020.

Before his appointment as CEO of Empower, Ed served as Managing Director at Putnam Investments and was a member of the firm’s operating committee. Prior to Putnam, he held executive leadership roles at Fidelity Investments in its institutional, private equity and retail businesses. During his time at Fidelity, he served as CEO of Veritude, LLC and as a board member of several Fidelity-owned companies. He spent the early portion of his career at Merrill Lynch.

Ed is a board member of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, Boston College Wall Street Council, the New England Council, Colorado Inclusive Economy, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) National Council and a member of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council. He is active in supporting numerous not-for-profit and charitable causes, including The Ireland Funds, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Cristo Rey High School in Boston, where he serves on the board.

Ed holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and is a graduate of the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School.

Securities, when presented, are offered and/or distributed by Empower Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. EFSI is an affiliate of Empower Retirement, LLC; Empower Funds, Inc.; and registered investment adviser, Empower Advisory Group, LLC. This material is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide investment, legal or tax recommendations or advice.  

1 As of April 1, 2022.

2 As of April 1, 2022. Information refers to the business of Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America (EAIC) and its subsidiaries, including Empower Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York (ELAINY) and Empower Financial Services, Inc; and Prudential Retirement Insurance & Annuity Company (PRIAC), marketed under the Empower brand. EAIC’s consolidated total assets under administration (AUA) were $1,081B. AUA is a non-GAAP measure and does not reflect the financial stability or strength of a company. EAIC’s statutory assets total $78.9B and liabilities total $75.2B. ELAINY statutory assets total $4.32B and liabilities total $4.02B, and PRIAC’s statutory assets total $100.329B and liabilities total $98.793B.

On August 1, 2022, Empower announced that it is changing the names of various companies within its corporate group to align the names with the Empower brand. For more information regarding the name changes, please visit www.empower.com/name-change “EMPOWER” and all associated logos, and product names are trademarks of Empower Annuity Insurance Company of America.

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Rich Linton is President and Chief Operating Officer for Empower. In his role, he oversees Empower’s segment distribution, which includes core, government, large, mega and not-for-profit markets. He also manages all aspects of recordkeeping and plan administration operations, including the Plan Service Center, the participant services center, compliance, conversion and implementation services, client services, processing operations, and financial controls. Additionally, he has responsibility for Great West Global operations in India.

Rich joined the organization in 2016 and has 32 years of industry experience, managing all aspects of the defined contribution business. Before joining Empower, he served as President of large corporate markets and retail wealth management for Voya Financial. There, he oversaw sales and marketing, relationship management, product development, platform management, field representative service, brokerage operations and strategic planning.

Rich has also served at Bank of America, where he was Managing Director of the business retirement solutions group, and at Fidelity Investments, where he gained deep experience running a major part of the operations organization. At Fidelity he served in a variety of leadership roles in operations, sales, product, marketing and client services before becoming Executive Vice President in the advisor retirement business.

Rich holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Boston University. He is board chairman and president of the Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Recordkeepers (SPARK), and he serves on the board of trustees of Colorado Succeeds, an organization of business leaders who are working to improve Colorado’s schools.

John Bevacqua is the Chief Risk Officer for Empower. In his role, he is responsible for the oversight of enterprise risk management, capital management and compliance activities across the firm.

John joined the organization in 2016 and has 30 years of experience in risk management, actuarial science and finance within the financial services industry. Prior to joining Empower, he served as Senior Vice President & Chief Risk Officer of Market Risk and Long Term Care Risk at Genworth Financial. Prior to that, he held senior actuarial and risk management positions at AIG and was a Partner in Deloitte’s Actuarial & Insurance Solutions practice.

John holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Andra Bolotin joined Empower in 2015 as senior vice president and chief financial officer. In 2016 she was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of both Empower and its indirect parent company, Great-West Lifeco U.S. LLC.

At Empower, Bolotin leads 230 associates whose roles include financial analysis, reporting, risk and control, as well as actuarial and tax. She also helps set strategic direction. In her Great-West Lifeco U.S. role, she oversees capital structure, control and tax planning, as well as the corporate accounting and tax teams at affiliate Putnam Investments.

Bolotin has been with the Great-West Family of Companies since 2008, when she joined the finance leadership team at Putnam. She served as head of corporate finance and controller and as co-head of the Putnam Enterprise Risk Committee.

Before joining Putnam, Bolotin was senior vice president and chief financial officer of the developing business group at Fidelity Investments. She also served as CFO of Fidelity HR Services and senior vice president of corporate finance. Previously she was vice president and treasurer at Polaroid and an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company.

Bolotin, who holds a degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, started her career as a chemical engineer at IBM. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Steve Gawlik is Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Empower. In his role, he is responsible for the company’s external communications strategy and execution, corporate-wide issues management, media relations, public policy and executive communications. He also works with business teams across the organization to raise the visibility of Empower capabilities, product solutions and best thinking.

Steve joined the organization in 2015 and has 22 years of experience in public relations in the corporate, not-for-profit and higher education sectors, most recently with TIAA-CREF and Western Union.

Steve holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Boston College. He currently holds FINRA Series 7 credentials and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America.

Steve Jenks is Senior Vice President and CMO for Empower.

Steve has more than 25 years of marketing, product and business leadership experience. He joined the organization in 2014. Previously, Steve served as Head of Defined Contribution Product and Marketing for Putnam Investments, where he helped shape and execute growth strategies for the organization’s defined contribution, investment-only and rollover businesses. 

Steve began his investment industry career in 1990 with Fifth Third Bank. From there, he held leadership roles in marketing, product, finance and relationship management for Fidelity Investments from 1992 to 2009. Steve also co-founded Acceleration Retirement, a marketing analytics and outsourcing firm, and Stable Two Financial, a registered investment advisory company. He served as CEO of both companies.

Steve holds a bachelor’s degree with distinction in business analysis from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. He is a registered representative of GWFS Equities, Inc. and maintains FINRA series 6, 26 and 63 securities registrations. Steve is currently on the boards of the American Red Cross, Mile High Chapter; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado; and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) Colorado.

Steve is a member of Empower’s internal Diversity & Inclusion Council and serves on the Talent Strategy Committee.

Carol Kline is Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Empower. In her role, she provides strategic information technology (IT) leadership by working with the technology and business teams to define and deliver IT strategy and capabilities across the company. She is also a key contributor to business-to-business and business-to-consumer engagement strategies.

Carol joined the organization in 2019 with a demonstrated track record of developing and driving innovative technology strategies to improve business processes and performance. Before joining Empower, she served as CIO at Conduent, Inc., a business process services provider.

Carol has also served at TTEC Holdings, Inc. (formerly TeleTech) as CIO, and she has held multiple executive and senior leadership roles at technology and communications firms such as EchoStar, America Online (now Historic AOL LLC) and Qwest Communications (now CenturyLink).

Carol holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from Ohio Northern University and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Jonathan Kreider is Senior Vice President and Head of Empower Investments. He leads the team responsible for product development and product management of Empower proprietary investment solutions. His team is responsible for the management and distribution of the Empower Funds’ series of proprietary mutual funds; our stable value businesses; and the broader due diligence, monitoring and selection of investment options for company platforms.

Jonathan joined the organization in 2012. Prior to joining Empower he worked as a consultant with JDL Consultants, LLC, a boutique management consulting firm specializing in strategic and analytical work for mutual fund boards. Before that, he served as a senior research analyst at Lipper, Inc.

Jonathan has spoken at industry conferences on manager due diligence and subadvisor selection, retirement income, the practical interpretation of investment risk metrics, and other topics. He has been quoted in numerous financial publications including the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Money and SmartMoney. In 2016, he was named as a Rising Star of Retirement Under 40 by LIMRA.

Jonathan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from the University of Colorado. He is a member of the CFA Society of Colorado and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.

Dave McLeod joined the Great-West Family of Companies in 1985 and was appointed senior vice president, product management, of Empower in 2012. He is responsible for product development efforts across the company’s retirement administration, annuity and insurance and capital preservation solutions.

Previously, he held several leadership positions with Empower and affiliated companies, including vice president, investment operations, and controller/treasurer of Great-West Funds.

A business graduate of the University of Manitoba, McLeod holds FINRA series 6, 26 and 65 registrations and a Certified Management Accountant designation.

Jen Nyhouse is Vice President and Chief Internal Auditor for Empower. In her role, Jen is responsible for overseeing the internal audit function, which provides independent and objective assurance to the firm and the board.

Jen joined the organization in 2015 as the Vice President of Financial Process and Control where she was responsible for overseeing the internal control over financial reporting program, the enterprise project management office and overall finance process improvement initiatives. She has over 20 years of progressive experience, including in KPMG’s Advisory practice, where she delivered internal audit and management consulting services to clients in a variety of industries.

Jen holds a MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Suzanne Sanchez joined Empower in 2005 and was named Chief Human Resources Officer in 2011. Sanchez is responsible for all human resources functions. In her role, she leads the company’s efforts to attract, engage and retain top talent in support of the company’s long-term strategic roadmap. This includes providing attractive benefits, competitive compensation and leading-edge training. She is a member of the Empower Retirement executive team.

Prior to her current role, Sanchez was the assistant vice president of talent management and corporate social responsibility. She spent her earliest years at the firm in talent acquisition roles.

Sanchez is passionate about giving back to the community and sits on the board of Denver CASA. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and is a certified senior human resources professional.

Richard Schultz has been in-house counsel with the Great-West Family of Companies since 1986. As the general counsel and Chief Legal Officer for Empower, he is responsible for all legal and regulatory matters involving the company. He also serves as the company’s corporate secretary. In addition, Schultz serves as senior vice president and general counsel of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company for Great-West Lifeco Inc.

After serving as assistant counsel for The Great-West Life Assurance Company in Winnipeg, Canada, Schultz joined Empower Retirement in 1995. Previously, he was an associate at the Winnipeg law firm Taylor McCaffrey.

Schultz received his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. He is licensed to practice law in Colorado and Manitoba.

Jay, as founding executive member and current President of Personal Capital, shaped the pioneering digital wealth management company into what it is today. With more than 20 years of experience scaling businesses with technology and data, he has grown Personal Capital from a Silicon Valley startup to a tech-enabled advisory business managing over $13 billion in assets.

Prior to joining Personal Capital, Jay served as CIO of E-LOAN, Inc., a multi-billion dollar consumer lending platform, where he facilitated the company’s acquisition by Banco Popular and led the build-out of the consumer-direct banking platform. Earlier in his career, he served as CTO and CIO at Myers Internet, a B2B SaaS enterprise platform for mortgage and real estate companies, and as Director of Technology, National Risk Management Services at PwC, where he created a strategic software practice for the firm’s emerging consulting businesses.

 Jay currently serves as a director on the board of Personal Capital Corporation, and was Chairman of the Technical Advisory Board at Ellie Mae from 2014 to 2018. Shah earned his B.A. in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara with a concentration in accounting.

Carol Waddell is Executive Vice President of the Retirement Solutions Group for Empower. In her role, she oversees the teams that deliver guidance, advice, managed accounts, and financial wellness and planning across all corporate and government defined contribution segments for Empower and leads the consumer IRA, taxable and Empower Brokerage businesses.

Previously, Carol served as Head of Product and Marketing for J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services. At J.P. Morgan, she led product management and development, which included products, services, tools and websites for advisors, plan sponsors and participants, and oversaw the firm’s marketing strategy and communications, segment management and award-winning participant experience.

Carol has also worked for T. Rowe Price, where she served in various leadership roles. In addition to providing oversight for defined contribution, defined benefit and nonqualified plan product development and marketing — including customer digital channels; investment products; and services for intermediaries, plan sponsors and participants — she contributed significantly to the firm’s overall retirement income and target date product strategies. Carol has also served at Citibank in a variety of positions focused on marketing and customer experience.

Carol holds an MBA from Loyola University Maryland and currently maintains the FINRA Series 6 securities registration. She also holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 credentials.

Carol serves as the Co-Chair of Empower’s Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Tina Wilson is Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer for Empower. In her role, she is responsible for the strategy, ideation and design of retirement products and solutions and oversees the team responsible for product development, management methodology and governance. She is President of Advised Assets Group, which is responsible for Empower’s advice and managed accounts solutions, as well. 

Tina joined the organization in 2019. She has also served as Head of Product & Investment Solutions Innovation for MassMutual’s Workplace organization and as Managing Director, Product & Investment Management for MassMutual International LLC, and she has led fund strategy within MassMutual’s Annuities and Retirement Services businesses. Prior to MassMutual, she was an Investment Officer at Connecticut Mutual. She has 25 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Tina holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut. She currently holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 credentials, and she is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and a member of the Colorado CFA Society and the CFA Institute.