Nationwide’s Annuity Business Looks to the Future with Eric Henderson’s Successor

Nationwide’s annuity business will be led by a new president at the end of the year, as Eric Henderson announces his retirement after nearly four decades with the company. The firm will conduct an internal and external search for his replacement, with Henderson remaining as head of the annuity team until his retirement.

Henderson has been leading Nationwide’s annuity team since 2007 and serving as president since 2019. Under his leadership, the annuity business has achieved three consecutive record sales years, making it Nationwide’s most profitable business line despite facing volatile market and interest-rate environments.

Throughout his career, Henderson has displayed tremendous resiliency and courage to successfully manage risk and lead teams through challenging economic conditions and turbulent markets. When headwinds began to impact the variable annuity business during the pandemic, Henderson 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, at a time when others in the industry were forced to exit business lines.

“A hallmark of admired leaders is their ability to recruit and develop high-performing leadership teams and organizations,” said John Carter, president and COO of Nationwide Financial, in a press release. “Eric has built a high-performing and inclusive leadership team that is well positioned to lead our annuity business for years to come.”

Henderson also serves as a board member on the Insured Retirement Institute and the LIMRA Annuity Executive Advisory Board. His legacy at Nationwide will live on through the success of its annuity business and his contributions to the industry as a whole.