After more than five years at Registered Rep., John Churchill is leaving for a new job and a new life in the Old World. John, along with his wife Birgitte and their 2.5 year-old son, Andreas, is moving to Copenhagen in November. With another baby on the way, John and Birgitte (a Dane) decided that after 10 years in New York, it was time for a new adventure. John started out at Rep. as a lowly intern making phone calls for the staff but, over time, elbowed his way up the ranks. He says he will miss the daily education on the markets and economy he received and the many friendships he made with sources. Mostly, he'll miss New York. He's encouraging visitors so look him up the next time you're in Scandinavia. John also holds the title as Penton Media's most prolific cover boy.
Amy Glynn, who wrote this month's story about how the business of advising 401(k) plans is changing, is director of Commonwealth Financial Network's Retirement Consulting Services unit. Amy, who joined Commonwealth in October 2008, leads the firm's efforts to support its advisors in the retirement marketplace, including educational and marketing initiatives targeted toward advisors, plan sponsors, and participants of group and individual plans. She also provides advanced technical, marketing and product-based support, as well as legislative updates.
Amy has been in the 401(k) and pension marketplace for 20 years. Prior to joining Commonwealth, she ran a successful consulting organization integrating ERISA practices into existing businesses. She has also served as vice president of institutional retirement plan sales at New York Life, founded a Web-based job placement and career resource center for women, and led the top-producing retirement plan division in the country at Smith Barney for five consecutive years.
John Aidan Byrne, who was the first reporter to talk to former Merrill Lynch brokerage chief Bob McCann after McCann settled a non-compete suit with BofA/Merrill Lynch (originally posted on registeredrep.com but republished on page 44), is an award-winning journalist who has contributed regularly to the New York Post, Gannett, Institutional Investor and numerous other print and online publications. He was the former editor of Traders Magazine, a staff writer at SecuritiesWeek, foreign correspondent for a Dublin tabloid, co-editor of a popular series of books on equity trading (Springer Science+Business Media) and contributor to the Handbook of Electronic Trading (Capital Markets Media). Byrne, a native of Ireland, came to the United States in 1985 and is now a U.S. citizen. Once upon a time, Byrne ran a folk and modern music festival at Coney Island. He is happily married with four children in New Jersey.