BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Symetra Life Insurance Company today announced a new sales leader for its western division and six new regional vice presidents to represent the company’s portfolio of annuity and life insurance products. These new hires are part of Symetra’s continuing effort to expand its distribution network and strengthen partner sales support in territories across the country.
Wes Severin has been named western divisional sales manager of Life and Retirement Sales. Severin is responsible for sales planning and day-to-day management and training of 12 external wholesalers covering the western United States. Most recently, Severin was national sales director of financial institution markets at Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company in Denver, Colo. In this role, he and his wholesaling team were instrumental in driving sales of single premium life insurance and other financial products through banks. He also directed new business development and relationship management in support of the bank channel. Before Great-West, Severin was a financial advisor with Simmers Capital Management.
Symetra also announced six new regional vice presidents in its Life and Retirement Sales organization. These new external wholesalers will provide annuity and life insurance sales support to financial planners in the following territories:
Christopher Grubbs (Territory: Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia) — Grubbs most recently served as a regional vice president at New York Life, managing relationships with major financial institutions and independent broker-dealers in southern Virginia and West Virginia. He also has held sales positions with ING and GE Financial (now Genworth Financial).
Lydia Hopper (Territory: Los Angeles, Central California) — Hopper joins Symetra from Michel Financial Group, where she was an annuity specialist. She previously held regional sales roles at MassMutual Financial Group and AIG SunAmerica, focusing on variable and fixed annuity sales through independent and bank registered representatives.
Brad Kiesling (Territory: North Texas, Oklahoma) — Kiesling is an experienced annuity and life insurance sales professional, having held external wholesaling roles at Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, AXA Equitable and Genworth Financial. He also was a regional director for Cherry Financial Partners, helping expand the financial services firm’s national network.
Matthew O’Neil (Territory: Maine, New York, Vermont) — O’Neil comes to Symetra from Genworth Financial, where he was a regional vice president responsible for annuity sales in upstate New York. He previously held regional sales roles at Phoenix Life and Liberty Funds Distributors, concentrating on variable and fixed annuity sales through independent, bank and regional wirehouse registered representatives.
Matthew Sennet (Territory: Florida, excluding Panhandle) — Sennet joins Symetra from ING Financial Solutions, where he was a regional vice president in north Florida. He also has served as a regional marketing director for Lincoln Financial Distributors and a Florida district retirement planning advisor for Merrill Lynch. He has extensive wholesaling experience with mutual funds and fixed, variable and immediate annuities through multiple distribution channels.
Tammy Viccari (Territory: Georgia, East Tennessee and Florida Panhandle) — Viccari brings to Symetra 13 years of experience as a successful external and internal wholesaler at ING Financial Services and Wachovia. Her financial services background also includes work as a stock broker at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.
“With a strong leader and coach in Wes and six seasoned regional vice presidents joining the team, our national sales organization is really coming together. Added to the five other regional vice presidents we announced in February, these new hires further demonstrate our commitment to expanding our wholesaling capability,” said Richard Moran, vice president of Symetra Life and Retirement National Sales. “By placing more sales professionals in a greater number of smaller territories, we’re increasing the level of support we provide to our distribution partners, which will be especially important as we roll out new products over the course of this year.”
About Symetra
Symetra Life Insurance Company is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation (NYSE: SYA), a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue, Wash. In business since 1957, Symetra provides employee benefits, annuities and life insurance through a national network of benefit consultants, financial institutions, and independent agents and advisors. For more information, visit www.symetra.com.