Dear NAGDCA Industry Members,

Over the past several years , the Industry Committee has been undergoing several changes as we look to provide more value for your membership. This year has been especially transformative, and I wanted to send an update to you to help you understand where we are in the evolution of the committee.

First, we moved voting for the open committee position out of the conference and online. Our goal with this was to engage the entire membership, even if you were not able to make it to the conference this year. The results are in, and I’m happy to announce that Ed Malone of Nationwide Retirement Solutions has won the election. We look forward to working with him this year, and we thank those of you who ran for the position.

Another important recent development is the departure of three of our committee members in the last couple of months. Jamie Salafia and Amy Heyel announced their departure in July, and Vince Ortega recently announced his retirement as well. They have been terrific representatives of the industry on the committee and highly active NAGDCA members for several years. They will all be deeply missed, and we wish them the best of luck in the future.

Their departures present an unprecedented situation for the organization. The Industry Committee is made up of six members, and when Julian Regan finishes his term as Industry President at the conference this year, we will only have three members remaining, including Ed. We have considered several different courses of action to address the situation, but we believe the best path is to deliberate with the full board at our November in-person meeting. The Industry Committee is an important part of NAGDCA, and we want to take the time to put it on the right path for the future. However, many of you have mentioned issues with the committee, such as the length of the tenure, that we believe we can address because of this unusual circumstance.

Once we determine a future path, you will hear more from me. In the meantime, I want to guarantee a couple of things:

  • The industry will continue to have two board positions – that will not be a point of discussion.
  • The Industry Committee will continue to exist, and it will be better than ever.

We value your membership, your sponsorship, and your partnership, and we look forward to improving the organization with your help. If you have questions, concerns, or comments, please reach out to me directly.

All the Best,

Matthew Petersen
Executive Director, NAGDCA