TIAA hires six new leaders for wealth management team

The executives, all of whom are joining from other firms, will complement TIAA's current staff 'to help clients prepare for retirement and reach their financial goals,' an executive says.

TIAA has overhauled the senior leadership of its wealth management business.

The New York City-based financial services firm has added six new leaders, all coming from other firms. Four of them will join the wealth distribution team, while the other two will be a part of the wealth chief operating office.

The influx will complement TIAA’s internal talent “to help clients prepare for retirement and reach their financial goals,” according to a statement from Rashmi Badwe, executive vice president and chief operating officer of TIAA’s wealth management division.

On the wealth distribution team, three of the hires will serve as regional managers. Joel Chery, formerly at Merrill Lynch, will lead the central region out of Chicago, while Francisco Galan, formerly at HSBC Wealth and Personal Banking, will head up the western division out of Los Angeles. Greg Grasso, who most recently served as a regional director for Edelman Financial Engines, will manage the New York region.

The fourth addition to the team is Cassandra King, a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry, who was most recently the U.S. chief of staff for wealth and personal banking at HSBC. King will be TIAA’s head of wealth sales enablement and guided advisory services.

On the wealth chief operating office team, TIAA has hired Stuart Archibald from JPMorgan Chase to be head of wealth strategy. Shankar Saravan, who most recently worked at Fidelity Investments, has joined TIAA as head of wealth products and solutions.