After more than three decades at Nationwide, Eric Henderson is set to retire as the head of the company’s annuity business. During his time at the firm, he has led the annuity team since 2007 and served as president of Nationwide Annuity since 2019. Under his leadership, the annuity business has achieved three consecutive record sales years, making it Nationwide’s most profitable business line despite volatile market and interest-rate environments.
Henderson began his career at Nationwide in 1985 as an actuarial assistant and held positions of increasing responsibility before taking over leadership of the annuity team in 2007. He will continue to lead the annuity team until his retirement and “help ensure a smooth leadership transition when his successor is named.” During his tenure, he oversaw all aspects of the company’s individual annuity segment, including product innovation, sales and distribution.
John Carter, president and COO of Nationwide Financial, paid tribute to Henderson’s career in a press release. “Throughout his career, Eric has displayed tremendous resiliency and courage to successfully manage risk and lead teams through challenging economic conditions and turbulent markets,” Carter said. “When headwinds began to impact the variable annuity business during the pandemic, Eric and his leadership team quickly pivoted focus to our portfolio of fixed products. That shift paid off with nearly $10 billion in fixed annuity sales in 2023.”
Carter also praised Henderson’s ability to build high-performing and inclusive leadership teams that are well positioned to lead the annuity business for years to come. In addition to his role at Nationwide, Henderson also serves as a board member on the Insured Retirement Institute and the LIMRA Annuity Executive Advisory Board.