DPL Financial Partners, a platform for commission-free annuities, has appointed two insurance industry veterans to newly created leadership positions as the firm approaches $7 billion in assets under administration. Mark Forman joins as Head of Experience and Kendal Wetzel as Head of Sales Strategy and Operations. The hires signal DPL's intent to deepen its service infrastructure and scale operations for registered investment advisors (RIAs) and their clients.
Forman will lead initiatives to enhance the service provided to DPL's member advisors, strategic partners, and consumers. He brings deep insight into advisor and consumer needs, having led experience initiatives at Jefferson National and later at Nationwide Financial. Following his tenure at Nationwide, Forman spent nearly six years as Chief Marketing Officer at RetireOne, served as a fractional CMO to fintechs and RIAs with Intention.ly, and most recently was CMO at Optifino. In his new role, he will focus on optimizing the end-to-end experience on DPL's platform.
Wetzel brings significant distribution experience, having previously served as VP of Sales Operations and Enablement at Jackson National Life Distributors and Director of RIA Distribution at Allianz Life. She will lead sales operations and enablement, aligning DPL's teams, processes, and technology to fuel the firm's continued growth. Her background with carriers and RIAs positions her to build systems that support increasing advisor and consumer demand.
The appointments reflect DPL's broader strategy to modernize and simplify the annuity experience. "We continue to make significant investments to modernize and simplify the annuity experience, and our team is critical to that mission," said DPL Founder and CEO David Lau. "Mark and Kendal both know the RIA market well and bring expertise tailoring annuity and insurance solutions to its unique needs. We're listening closely to our members and partners, and these additions reflect our commitment to delivering an experience that supports advisor and client success at every stage of our growth."
For RIAs, the move could mean more responsive support and streamlined processes as DPL expands its commission-free annuity marketplace. Forman emphasized the potential impact: "Commission-free annuities and other high-value insurance solutions can transform advisors' practices and help solve the most critical retirement problems Americans face today: spending confidently and securely after their working years." Wetzel added, "Having spent my career working with carriers, I've watched DPL move the industry forward with unique solutions for RIAs, a segment for which I have a strong passion."
DPL supports more than 8,500 RIA firms directly and through integrations with leading wealth management platforms including Orion and Black Diamond. To learn more about DPL and commission-free annuities, visit dplfp.com.
