Retirement Industry People Moves – 8/7/2026
401Go Adds CFO, CRO
Brad Sawaya
401Go Inc. appointed Brad Sawaya as chief financial officer and Marc Jacobs as chief revenue officer as the retirement plan provider looks to scale up following a $33 million Series B funding round. According to the Sandy, Utah-based company, it has surpassed 6,000 retirement plans on its platform, and the firm is adding financial and commercial leadership to support its next stage of growth.
Sawaya brings more than 15 years of finance experience and most recently was CFO of BillingPlatform after earlier roles at General Electric, VMware, EMC and Ernst & Young. Jacobs has more than 20 years of go-to-market experience, including leadership roles at Greenhouse, CB Insights, Spring Health, Freshpaint and CHEQ.
At 401Go, Jacobs will work to expand the company’s reach among financial advisers, plan sponsors, payroll providers and human resources teams, while Sawaya will focus on building the financial foundation for continued expansion.
Cornerstone Research Names Bryan Ricchetti CEO
Cornerstone Research Inc. named Bryan Ricchetti CEO, completing a planned leadership transition in which he succeeds Rahul Guha. Ricchetti and Guha co-led key operational initiatives during a year-long transition, and Guha will remain with the economic and financial consulting firm as a senior adviser, according to a company statement.
Ricchetti has more than two decades of economic consulting experience and previously served four years on Cornerstone’s board, led its antitrust practice for eight years and headed its economics practice for two years. He also helped expand the firm’s Chicago office to more than 150 people from 10. Under his leadership as CEO, Ricchetti said Cornerstone will continue investing in talent and its network of academic experts while advancing technologies, artificial intelligence capabilities and analytical methods used in law and economics.
The Standard Names Tony McMasters Regional VP for Retirement Plans
Tony McMasters
The Standard Insurance Co. hired Tony McMasters as a regional vice president in its retirement plans business, where he will work with advisers, plan sponsors and third-party administrators in eastern Pennsylvania. McMasters has more than 35 years of retirement industry experience and most recently served as a regional vice president at Voya.
McMasters’ career includes leadership positions in retirement plan sales and benefits consulting.
Franklin Templeton Expands Global Client Group Leadership
Franklin Templeton expanded its global client group leadership, naming Elizabeth “Liz” Hogbin head of global product and Rene Buehlmann head of Asia-Pacific, while moving Patrick O’Connor from head of global ETFs to vice chair of the Global Client Group. The changes come as the asset manager seeks to accelerate its exchange-traded-fund business, unify its global product organization and deepen its Asia-Pacific presence, according to a firm statement. Franklin Templeton also stated it has generated $63.4 billion in net inflows for the fiscal year to date.
Hogbin, who joins from T. Rowe Price, will take the newly consolidated global product role on September 30 and oversee product strategy, development, positioning and commercialization. Buehlmann, a former global CEO of Aberdeen Investments who spent nearly three decades at UBS, becomes the head of business in Asia-Pacific on September 21. O’Connor, who helped grow Franklin Templeton’s ETF business to more than $75 billion in assets, will advise global client group leadership on investment solutions, innovation and expansion, initially focusing on ETF growth across several Asian markets.
