Greetings from Brent Neese, NTSA Executive Director

Thank you for your continued support of the NTSA. I am humbled by the work ahead, grateful for the trust the organization has bestowed in me, and mindful of the important mission of the NTSA. The mission is vital to the retirement security of public employees across the nation. There is no greater association to champion education and advocacy for the industry than the NTSA. Collectively, we accomplish so much more than any of us can alone.

I have dedicated my career to improving the retirement security of public sector employees, spending the past 22 years specializing in public and tax-exempt 403(b)/457(b) retirement plans. Starting as a financial advisor with AIG VALIC in 1995, where I was recognized as “Rookie of the Year,” I realized early how impactful the role of an advisor is in empowering public employees with financial literacy, advice and retirement solutions that create sustainable lifetime income in retirement. Throughout my career, I have maintained relationships with the teachers, first responders and health care professionals that I counseled in my early years, and have attended many retirement celebrations seeing firsthand the outcomes of this labor of love.

I have had the privilege of working with thousands of financial advisors, consultants and plan sponsors who make up the community of professionals dedicated to improving workplace savings solutions. Most recently, I led Great-West’s (Empower Retirement) public markets team responsible for distribution and client management across the United States and serving nearly 2.6 million clients through 24 state retirement programs and more than 9,200 local governments and school districts.

Looking forward, I hope to build on the legacy of exceptional leadership provided by Chris DeGrassi and to continue to enhance the support the NTSA provides to each of you. Our focus on public and tax-exempt retirement plan best practices, effective plan design and strategies to improve participant engagement is more important than ever. I am appreciative that the NTSA has served the needs of this unique community since 1989, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with each of you and the next generation of practitioners to improve policies and practices that will transcend into better retirement security. I am in awe of the experience of the membership and proud to be associated with each of you. In the coming days and months, I look forward to getting to know each of you and adding value to your business.