Holly Verdeyen has joined Mercer, a global HR consulting and asset management firm, as leader of its US defined contribution practice.
Verdeyen brings more than 20 years of institutional investment experience to Mercer, where she will manage the firm’s defined contribution (DC) and financial wellness business in the US. Based in Chicago, Verdeyen will report to Chris Mahoney, leader of Mercer’s US wealth business.
“Financial stability and retirement preparedness is a top priority for plan sponsors in 2022, and Holly’s impressive background will build upon Mercer’s work to improve accessibility, engagement, and personalization for participants,” Mahoney said. “Holly’s depth of experience is key as we address the evolving needs of clients, and fuel Mercer’s continued growth across the US.”
Verdeyen joins Mercer from Russell Investments, a global investment manager, where she spent the last eight-and-a-half years. She most recently served as head of DC, overseeing an independent business unit with $15.8 billion in assets under management and $330 billion in assets under advisement.
Prior to that, Verdeyen spent a decade at UBS Global Asset Management, where she was latterly an executive director in the DC unit. Earlier in her career, she was a business development officer in BlackRock’s DC group.
Verdeyen has an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in finance from St. Norbert College.
“The legislative agenda is packed with proposals to bolster retirement coverage and adequacy, and employers are in a unique position to expand retirement plan access while still affording participants flexibility,” Verdeyen said. “I’m very excited to join a team of experts who are working with leading organizations to tackle retirement plan challenges.”
Headquartered in New York, Mercer provides human resources consulting and asset management services to clients across industries. The firm had $380 billion in global assets under management as of March 31, 2021.