Dive Brief:
- Lincoln Financial appointed Tom Anfuso to SVP and CTO Monday. The insurance and financial services firm will lean on Anfuso to “provide strategic direction and vision for IT infrastructure at Lincoln,” according to the announcement.
- Anfuso is a longtime technology executive with a background in the financial industry. He comes to Lincoln Financial from JPMorgan Chase, where he spent four years in the CTO role before becoming managing director and head of technology integrations earlier this year, according to his LinkedIn profile. Previously, Anfuso held CIO positions at insurers Chubb and National Life Group.
- In the new role, Anfuso will report to EVP and CIO Jennifer Charters, who was tapped to replace retiring EVP and CIO Ken Solon in October 2024. Charters previously held the CIO position at Flagstar Bank, served as CIO of corporate technology at Ally Financial and spent more than a decade at Accenture providing technology support to insurance, financial services and telecom companies.
Dive Insight:
Movement at the top of Lincoln Financial’s technology team comes at an inflection point for the industry, as many of the largest firms leverage the combined power of cloud, data and AI to streamline internal processes, improve customer experience and drive growth.
The industry experienced a small burst of technology executive movement among a broader flurry of technology executive appointments so far this year.
Earlier this month, Unum Group tapped former Aflac EVP and CIO Shelia Anderson to lead transformation as EVP and chief information and digital officer in May. In March, The Hartford swapped CIOs and appointed a chief data, AI and operations officer amid a multiyear modernization push. The Hartford Chairman and CEO Christopher Swift touted the company’s five-year track record of digital transformation during a January earnings call.
Former Citigroup CIO of Services Nick Nadgauda took the helm as EVP and CIO at MetLife in March. Nadgauda’s appointment came shortly after MetLife leaned on AI and digitization to drive a five-year New Frontier growth initiative last December.
Lincoln Financial executives emphasized a similar focus on technology during a May 8 earnings call.
“We have taken a number of actions to increase our operational efficiency and position our enterprise for future growth, including reducing expenses while strategically investing in technology, talent and infrastructure to further elevate our customer experience and enhance our ability to scale effectively,” the company’s Chairman, President and CEO Ellen Cooper said.
Cooper pointed to Lincoln Financial’s technology modernization and innovation efforts in an October announcement of Charters’ CIO appointment.
“We look forward to Jen's leadership as we strategically deploy customer-centric technology to meet the evolving needs of the people we serve and enhance the ways we deliver our products, solutions and capabilities to the market,” Cooper said.
