Benefits industry newsmakers: Benefits Advisors Network, Nectar, Emburse, Lifesum

The employee benefits industry is churning with new hires and promotions, partnerships and acquisitions. Here’s what’s happened recently.

United Concordia Dental announced that Julie Arthur Beacock of California has been named regional vice president, Western Region Sales. She has over 20 years of experience, most recently serving as president of a company she founded: Arthur Beacock Insurance Services, LLC, a brokerage and consulting firm. Additionally, she held ownership in Intercare Insurance Solutions, LLC, from 2008-2012, acquired by HUB International in 2012.

Principal Financial Group and Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of MetLife entered into an agreement with Philips North America to transfer approximately $1.2B of Philips North America Pension Plan obligations to Principal and MetLife. MetLife will act as the lead administrator for the monthly benefits for approximately 9,000 retirees and their beneficiaries in the Philips North America Pension Plan. Principal will have financial responsibility for a portion of these monthly benefits and will have sole responsibility for the approximately 2,000 deferred participants.

Pinnacle Actuarial Resources announced  promotions:

• Laura Maxwell to director and consulting actuary. Maxwell joined Pinnacle in 2005 and has served as a consultant since 2003. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS), a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA) and a Certified Specialist in Predictive Analytics (CSPA).
• Jordan Paszek to consulting actuary. Paszek has been with Pinnacle since 2015, most recently in an associate actuary role, and is an Associate of the CAS (ACAS) and a member on the CAS Member Advisory Panel.

Lifesum announced its Health Advisory Board, which will provide feedback and insight based on their respective fields pertaining to Lifesum’s personalized nutritional guidance app and corporate wellness program:

● Christina Meyer-Jax, MS, RDN, LDN and RYT, a food and nutrition expert, food systems and industry strategist, health marketing communications professional, and educator.

● Andrew Zimmermann, Founder of Behavior Design Collective, a behavior change expert who works with companies on how to design products, programs, and services that change behaviors sustainably at scale.

Emburse has acquired two companies:

• Roadmap, a Dutch startup that makes the digital pocket travel assistant of the same name.
• DVI (Data Visualization International), a US-based provider of travel analytics software, which uses data science and machine learning to crunch the numbers on employee travel. DVI is a subsidiary of CTM, listed on the ATX.

Benefit Advisors Network (BAN) has created a strategic partnership with Nectar, an employee recognition and rewards platform. Under the terms of the new partnership, BAN’s 120+ member firms nationwide can provide Nectar’s platform at an exclusive rate to their employer groups.