Key Takeaways
- • Mercer has hired Lynn Esenwine, a veteran of US pension-risk transfer (PRT) deals, as a senior consultant focused on lead deals and de-risking, according to the firm's announcement on Friday.
- • Esenwine spent 13 years (2002 to mid-2015) at Prudential Retirement, the leading bulk-annuity provider for North American PRTs, before leaving about 11 months earlier to lead MassMutual's pension buyout business and product development.
- • Her role centers on facilitating large buyout transactions coordinated with broader risk management and investment strategies, reporting to pension-risk management group chief Richard McEvoy.
- • The hire extends Mercer's North American PRT capabilities, which the firm has been building out after its UK-focused PRT expertise and a July hiring of four annuitization experts.
- • Mercer predicts the PRT market will grow substantially in coming years.
Summary
Mercer has hired Lynn Esenwine, a prominent figure in US pension-risk transfers, as a lead deals and de-risking consultant, the firm announced on Friday. Esenwine is set to start as a senior consultant next month and will report to Richard McEvoy, chief of Mercer's pension-risk management group.
Esenwine spent 13 years at Prudential Retirement, the leading bulk-annuity provider for North American pension-risk transfers, from 2002 to mid-2015. She left the New Jersey-based firm roughly 11 months before the Mercer announcement to lead MassMutual's pension buyout business and product development. At Mercer, she "will focus on facilitating large buyout transactions, coordinated with broader risk management and investment strategies," according to the announcement.
McEvoy praised her insurance background as a strategic asset in advising Mercer's pension clients on de-risking tactics. "Her knowledge and transaction experience will help Mercer enhance execution certainty for our clients," he said.
The hire reflects Mercer's effort to deepen its North American PRT capabilities. The firm established its expertise in the more mature UK PRT market before building out its US presence. Last July, Mercer named four new annuitization experts hired from Buck Consultants, Aon Hewitt, AIG, and pension-risk advisory Dietrich & Associates. Mercer described Esenwine as "a key addition at a pivotal time for the PRT market," a business the firm expects to grow substantially in the coming years.
Esenwine spent 13 years at Prudential Retirement, the leading bulk-annuity provider for North American pension-risk transfers, from 2002 to mid-2015. She left the New Jersey-based firm roughly 11 months before the Mercer announcement to lead MassMutual's pension buyout business and product development. At Mercer, she "will focus on facilitating large buyout transactions, coordinated with broader risk management and investment strategies," according to the announcement.
McEvoy praised her insurance background as a strategic asset in advising Mercer's pension clients on de-risking tactics. "Her knowledge and transaction experience will help Mercer enhance execution certainty for our clients," he said.
The hire reflects Mercer's effort to deepen its North American PRT capabilities. The firm established its expertise in the more mature UK PRT market before building out its US presence. Last July, Mercer named four new annuitization experts hired from Buck Consultants, Aon Hewitt, AIG, and pension-risk advisory Dietrich & Associates. Mercer described Esenwine as "a key addition at a pivotal time for the PRT market," a business the firm expects to grow substantially in the coming years.
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