Prudential Annuities Announces New Leadership Structure

Business Wire, Oct 17, 2008

Organizational Shift Strengthens Business Alignments and Emphasizes Client Focus

NEWARK, N.J. -- Prudential Annuities, the domestic annuity business for Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU), today announced a new leadership structure that will strengthen key alignments across the business and combine related parts of the business by segment. The new structure, announced by Stephen Pelletier, who was appointed president of Prudential Annuities in September, aligns Sales with Strategic Account Management and aligns Product Management, Investment Management and Marketing. Service and Systems Solutions will continue to be an integral partner to the other two segments.

"Our new structure not only improves our ability to perform at the highest level, but it also allows us to more effectively leverage capabilities across the company and become more nimble in meeting the challenges of a fast-paced and competitive environment," said Pelletier.

The new Sales and Strategic Account Management segment brings together all aspects of sales and distribution, including combining the Sales and Strategic Account Management (SAM) groups. Led by Bruce Ferris, senior vice president, this segment also brings the National Sales Desk, Business Development, Sales Learning and Retirement Advanced Marketing teams under its umbrella.

"This change will enable us to compete more effectively in the marketplace by emphasizing our client-centric approach to doing business and maximizing our progress toward our goals," Pelletier said.

To enhance the development and delivery of Prudential's product solutions, the new structure also brings together three highly correlated units by aligning Product Management, Investment Management and Marketing. Headed by Robert O'Donnell, senior vice president, the new segment will include Investment Management, Marketing, Product Management, Research and State Filing, and Product Development and Product Pricing.

"This move will serve to advance the execution of our dual strategies--to continue to focus effectively on our core business, while simultaneously moving ahead with more strategic initiatives," Pelletier added. "Our progress in both of these areas is essential to our ability to continue to provide the most innovative product and investment solutions to the marketplace."

Both of these segments will work closely with the Service and Systems Solutions segment, led by Steven Marenakos, senior vice president, Operations and Systems. Marenakos' existing team will continue to provide the infrastructure that the Sales and Distribution and the Product/Investments/Marketing segments require to maximize the efficiencies of the business. Marenakos joined Prudential Annuities in 2005 from Hartford Life, where he led the Investment Products Technology group. Previously, he was an associate partner with Accenture in the Banking and Insurance Client Group. Marenakos has more than 18 years of industry systems and technology experience.

Ferris joined Prudential in 2006 and leads both the Relationship Management and Channel Development functions, including distribution for all channels. With more than 30 years of experience in financial services, Ferris spent 11 years with Hartford Life Insurance Company, where he was responsible for the sales and marketing of all retail investment products, including variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, 529 plans and off-shore products.

O'Donnell is responsible for managing the strategic development of the annuity product line, as well as the independent investment advisory portion of the annuity business and leads the Annuity Innovation Team that drives the firm's creative process and is leading a number of emerging strategic initiatives in the United States. O'Donnell joined American Skandia in 1997 (acquired by Prudential Annuities in 2003) and has been part of the development and implementation of variable annuities, and has led product development initiatives and business-model creation within life insurance, mutual fund, and qualified plan markets. The first ten years of his career, which included time at The Travelers Insurance Company and Mass Mutual, were focused on finance and investment management.

Prior to his appointment as president of Prudential Annuities last month, Pelletier served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prudential's International Investments business, working closely with Prudential Annuities as part of an initiative to leverage its highly innovative capabilities in international markets over the last year. He joined Prudential in 1992 in a corporate planning and strategy role.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $638 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company's well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.>

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