Craig Hawley Named Leader of Nationwide Annuity

Craig Hawley Named Leader of Nationwide Annuity

Earlier this year, Eric Henderson announced plans to retireas leader of Nationwide's annuity business. Today, John Carter, president and COO of Nationwide Financial announced Craig Hawleyas the new leader of Nationwide Annuity, effective August 5. Hawley is a 25-year financial services industry veteran whose diverse skillset and broad distribution experience position him well for this important role.

"Craig Hawley is known as an innovator who leverages data and digital tools to drive results and an admired leader committed to recruiting and developing high-performing teams," Carter said. "He is assuming leadership of a very high-performing team that has celebrated three consecutive years of record growth, and I am confident that our annuity business will continue to build on its strong performance under Craig's leadership."

Since joining Nationwide in 2017 with the acquisition of Nationwide Advisory Solutions (formerly Jefferson National), Hawley has demonstrated a commitment to professional development through his leadership in several key roles across Nationwide Financial:

• As the Head of Nationwide Advisory Solutions, he was responsible for Nationwide's fee-based annuity distribution channel, serving more than 6,000 registered investment advisors (RIAs) and fee-based advisors. In this role, he led that team's two-year integration into Nationwide while maintaining a strong and engaged culture.
• In 2019, he was named Senior Vice President of Annuity Distribution for Nationwide, where he optimized territory coverage, driving down acquisition costs and positioning the team to gain market share. His commitment to collaboration drove enhanced partnerships and results.
• In 2022, Hawley was named Senior Vice President of Nationwide Retirement Solutions Distribution. Under his leadership, this team delivered record sales in 2023 while retaining plans across markets at historically high rates.
• Prior to Nationwide, Hawley served as General Counsel at Jefferson National,where he oversaw all aspects of the legal, compliance, government relations, internal audit and operations functions for the firm.

Hawley earned his bachelor's in business administration and Doctor of Jurisprudence (law degree) from the University of Louisville, where he also played basketball. He holds his FINRA Series 6, 26 and 63 licenses. Outside of Nationwide, he serves on the Columbus Chamber of Commerce Board, LIMRA Retirement Plans Advisory Board, and University of Louisville College of Business Advisory Board.

Eric Stevenson, president of Nationwide Retirement Solutions will conduct an in-depth internal and external search for Hawley's replacement as leader of Nationwide Retirement Solutions Distribution. That team will report to Stevenson in the interim.