Press releases
Press release
Steve Smith joins Ascension Insurance as Senior Vice President for its Corporate Retirement Practice
Ascension Insurance, Inc., is pleased to announce that Steve Smith has joined the Ascension Retirement team as Senior Vice President, Retirement Practice Leader, effective immediately. Steve is a seasoned and nationally-recognized professional in the retirement benefits field with more than 20 years of wide-ranging experience.
In his new role, he will support business development efforts, while continuing to service the day to day needs of existing clients through corporate retirement plan design, fiduciary governance, investment policy, provider management, mergers and acquisitions, risk transfer, plan administration, audit assistance, and compliance.
Steve has worked in the retirement services industry since 1995. Most recently, he served as the lead consultant for Arthur J. Gallagher’s Pacific Northwest territory. At Gallagher, he assisted his clients with the design, implementation and monitoring of qualified retirement plans; performing research and consulting on plan document reviews for minimum qualification requirements, compliance testing, and other U.S. Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) issues. He also assisted with investment monitoring due diligence and providing guidance to clients related to their fiduciary responsibilities.
Prior to joining Gallagher in 2010, Steve was a consultant with Wells Fargo Bank, and served several years in sales management with Standard Insurance and Transamerica Retirement Services, respectively. He earned his Bachelor of Art degree from Western Washington University.
“I’m very excited to welcome Steve to our team,” said Mike Weintraub, Chairman and President of Ascension’s Retirement Plans Division. “His extensive experience and strategic leadership as a consultant on a wide range of qualified and nonqualified corporate retirement plan topics will help foster continued growth for Ascension’s retirement division and increase the value we offer our clients.”
“I’m thrilled to join this very experienced team and honored to have the opportunity to work closely with an industry veteran and legend such as Mike,” said Steve. “We both share a passion for building durable client relationships of mutual trust. Building on the solid foundation he has established, I hope to help strengthen the organization’s performance and continue its focus on putting the customer first. I look forward to working with Mike and all the fantastic people at Ascension.”
“Everyone who works at Ascension is a proven and successful leader and Steve is no different,” said Ascension’s President and CEO, Joe Tatum. “He’s highly regarded by his peers, and rightly so. The expertise and innovation he will bring to our retirement practice will have a tremendous impact on its growth and development and I’m extremely pleased he chose Ascension in which to continue his impressive career. ”
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About Ascension Insurance, Inc.
Ascension Insurance, Inc. is a premier insurance agency that offers superior risk management and benefits consulting services. It has more than 420 employees and 30 locations nationwide. Ascension is a privately held corporation; together with its private equity partners, Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management, the company expects to grow to $200 million in revenue by 2018.
More information about Ascension can be found at www.ascensionins.com.
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