Lynn Esenwine, incoming Senior Consultant, MercerMercer has hired Lynn Esenwine—a major name in US pension-risk transfers—as a lead deals and de-risking consultant.
Esenwine spent 13 years from 2002 to mid-2015 with Prudential Retirement, the leading bulk-annuity provider for North American pension-risk transfers (PRTs).
She left the New Jersey-based giant 11 months ago to lead MassMutual’s pension buyout business and product development.
At Mercer, Esenwine “will focus on facilitating large buyout transactions, coordinated with broader risk management and investment strategies,” the firm announced Friday. She is set to start as a senior consultant next month, reporting to pension-risk management group chief Richard McEvoy.
McEvoy praised Esenwine’s 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 in the announcement.
Mercer established its sector expertise in the UK’s more mature PRT market, while more recently building out its North American capabilities. Last July, the firm named four new annuitization experts hired from Buck Consultants, Aon Hewitt, AIG, and pension-risk advisory Dietrich & Associates.
Esenwine is “a key addition at a pivotal time for the PRT market”—a business Mercer predicted to substantially grow in coming years.
Related: Mercer Boosts PRT Team with Annuity Experts & NISA: Partial Buyouts Are ‘Expensive, Underwhelming’