CUNA Mutual Group Adds New Leaders to National and Regional Sales Teams

    MADISON, WI, January 28, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- CUNA Mutual Group announced recently one national promotion and two local new hires to support strategic sales initiatives for its annuities business. Gina Riepel has been promoted to Director of Strategic Accounts for CUNA Mutual Group's Annuities division. In addition, the company has hired Darius Tandy and Dylan Tito to support annuities sales efforts in California. Tandy is joining as Regional Vice President of Annuities for Southern California, and Tito as Regional Vice President of Annuities for Northern California.

Riepel joined CUNA Mutual Group in 2017 as Vice President and Senior Strategic Account Manager. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing efforts to build deeper relationships with the organization's existing broker-dealer and advisor community, in addition to growing this network. She will also manage CUNA Mutual Group Annuities' National Accounts team.

Tandy and Tito, meanwhile, will be responsible for distributing a variety of CUNA Mutual annuity products to advisors and broker-dealers throughout the West Coast, Nevada and Hawaii. The two bring innovative practice management ideas and industry knowledge to work with their clients in these territories.

CUNA Mutual Group implemented these executive changes as part of its broader effort to enhance its annuities sales capacity in recent months as the organization works to make investments, retirement and financial stability more accessible to everyone. The company also established a sales desk in Madison, Wisconsin, in addition to hiring a number of internal sales professionals.

"We're pleased to continue the growth of our annuities team, and Gina, Darius and Dylan will all be important to our strategic efforts in the year ahead," said Martin Powell, Head of Annuity Distribution at CUNA Mutual Group. "Having such an outstanding sales organization at both the national and regional level will help us achieve significant growth and present even more financial professionals with top-quality annuity products and services."

Riepel possesses nearly three decades of financial services experience in sales, account management and business development. Prior to joining CUNA Mutual Group, she served as vice president of national accounts at FS Investments, Pacific Life and AIM/Invesco, where she was responsible for driving annuity, mutual fund and alternative investment sales with registered advisors and broker-dealers. She received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, and holds a National Social Security Advisor certificate and Behavioral Finance Advice designation.

"I'm thrilled to assume a larger role within the CUNA Mutual Group Annuities organization and am grateful for the opportunity to share my knowledge with both my colleagues and our financial institution relationships nationwide," said Riepel. "I strongly believe in this company's mission to enable financial stability for all and look forward to driving our efforts further in the years to come."

Prior to joining CUNA Mutual Group, Tandy spent 11 years as a regional vice president with Allianz Life Financial Services, wholesaling annuity products throughout Southern California. He has also held regional sales positions with Transamerica Capital and Equitable Distributors. He received his bachelor's degree in business economics from the University of California Santa Barbara and is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor.

"I'm excited to join CUNA Mutual Group and leverage my expertise to enhance our services to financial professionals throughout the region," said Tandy. "CUNA Mutual Group is best-in-class when it comes to offering flexible and simple annuity products that are transparent and easy to understand. It's an honor to work among such smart, dedicated professionals."

Tito comes to CUNA Mutual Group from Protective Life, where he served as regional manager for Northern California and Northern Nevada, wholesaling a variety of annuity products to advisors and broker-dealers. Before that, he was vice president and investment management consultant with BlackRock and has held sales positions with First Trust Portfolios. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in finance and banking and is a certified National Social Security Advisor.

"I'm passionate about helping make retirement more accessible to everyone by equipping advisors with the best available products for their clients," said Tito. "CUNA Mutual Group's annuities team are industry leaders, and I look forward to sharing my sales and investment knowledge and growing our footprint in the Pacific Northwest."

For more information about CUNA Mutual Group Annuity Solutions, visit http://www.smartriskcontrol.com.

About CUNA Mutual Group

CUNA Mutual Group is a financially strong insurance and financial services company enabling people to make financial decisions that work for them. The company was built on the principle of "people helping people" and the belief that a brighter financial future should be accessible to everyone. For more information, visit www.cunamutual.com.

CUNA Mutual Group is the marketing name for CUNA Mutual Holding Company, a mutual insurance holding company, its subsidiaries and affiliates. Annuities are issued by CMFG Life Insurance Company (CMFG Life) and MEMBERS Life Insurance Company (MEMBERS Life) and distributed by their affiliate, CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, a registered broker/dealer and investment advisor, 2000 Heritage Way, Waverly, IA, 50677. CMFG Life and MEMBERS Life are stock insurance companies. MEMBERS® is a registered trademark of CMFG Life. Investment and insurance products are not federally insured, may involve investment risk, may lose value and are not obligations of or guaranteed by any depository or lending institution. All contracts and forms may vary by state and may not be available in all states or through all broker/dealers. MGA-2862162.1-1219-0122 © 2020 CUNA Mutual Group

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