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MILWAUKEE, March 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual, a leading financial security company, today announced several senior leadership appointments.  

"Our people matter more than ever as we pursue our bold strategy of transforming how our clients experience financial security," said Northwestern Mutual Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John E. Schlifske. "We are making the necessary investments to be even more relevant to our clients' lives, and these innovative leaders play a critical role in advancing our business and thinking."

Northwestern Mutual's Board of Trustees approved three promotions within the executive leadership team, including:

• Joann "Jo" Eisenhart, who joined the company in 2011, has been promoted to executive vice president and assumes a new role as chief people officer, overseeing human resources, campus & event experiences, digital workplace corporate solutions, communications and strategic philanthropy & community relations. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Eisenhart was senior vice president for human resources at Pfizer Inc. She holds a Ph.D. in human and organizational development from The Fielding Graduate Institute, and a second doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Eisenhart received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois-Urbana. 
• John Grogan, a 25-year veteran of the company, has been promoted to executive vice president and will continue serving as head of Insurance Products and Client Services. Grogan has overall leadership responsibility for the company's life, disability, long-term care and annuity businesses, and for the transformation of the client service experience across all operations teams.  Grogan's broad-based experience spans numerous leadership roles at the company including the areas of law, distribution, insurance and wealth management.  He is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. 
• Raymond Manista has been promoted to executive vice president and will assume a new role as chief legal officer.  He also maintains his responsibilities as secretary for the Board of Trustees. Manista, who joined Northwestern Mutual in 1998, leads the Law and Public Affairs function, which includes four departments: law, enterprise information risk & cybersecurity, enterprise compliance, and government relations. Throughout his tenure, Manista has held several legal and business leadership roles, serving as litigation counsel, head of corporate planning and, since 2008, general counsel.  Manista received his bachelor's degree from Marquette University, and later earned his law degree from Marquette University Law School. 

The Board of Trustees also approved the appointment of four leaders to executive officers:

• Jeb Bentley has been named executive officer and vice president of Investment Strategy.  His team is responsible for asset allocation and composite portfolio management for the company's general account and other portfolios. Through Bentley's role as chairman of the board for Mason Street Advisors, he also oversees the company's external manager and sub-advisory relationships. Bentley received an M.B.A. in finance from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. in economics from Williams College. 
• Chris Gawart, who joined Northwestern Mutual in 2011, has been named executive officer and promoted to vice president-law and general counsel. He leads the law department's 75 attorneys and support staff overseeing investment deals, insurance and investment products, litigation, taxes and corporate governance. Deeply experienced in tax law, he formerly chaired the product tax section of the American Council of Life Insurers. Gawart received a B.A. degree in economics from Kalamazoo College and his J.D. from Indiana University – Bloomington School of Law.
• Abim Kolawole has been named executive officer and vice president-policy benefits. He leads life, disability and long-term care claims.  Kolawole has been with the company since 2003 and has led the disability income benefits and post approval divisions, and spent 11 years as a securities lawyer.  Kolawole received his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston.
• Deborah Schultz, has been named executive officer and vice president-financial management, overseeing budget & expense management, enterprise vendor & alliance management, insurable risk management, and treasury. She joined Northwestern Mutual in 2005. Schultz received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration with majors in Actuarial Science and Risk Management & Insurance from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

All appointments were effective February 1.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping families and businesses achieve financial security for more than 160 years. Through a distinctive, whole-picture planning approach, we empower our clients to make the most of every single day and plan for important moments in their future. We combine the expertise of our financial professionals with a personalized digital experience to help our clients navigate their financial lives every day. With $265.0 billion in assets, $28.1 billion in revenues, and $1.8 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to 4.5 million people who rely on us for life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, brokerage and advisory services, trust services, and discretionary portfolio management solutions. The company manages more than $125 billion of client assets through its wealth management and investment services. Northwestern Mutual ranks 97 on the 2017 FORTUNE 500 and is recognized by FORTUNE^® as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2018.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a comprehensive approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, life insurance with long-term care benefits, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company^® (NMWMC) (fiduciary and fee-based financial planning services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual