Equitable Holdings, the financial services holding company comprised of Equitable and AllianceBernstein, has announced new leadership appointments, including Julia Zhang as Chief Risk Officer (CRO).
Zhang succeeds Aaron Sarfatti, who served as the company’s CRO since 2018, and is to take over her new role on April 1, following approval from the Equitable Holdings Board of Directors.
She will be reporting to Mark Pearson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Equitable Holdings, and join the company’s Management Committee.
“After an extensive search, there is no one better positioned than Julia to lead our enterprise risk management function and build upon our strong framework as we deliver on our growth strategy,” said Mark Pearson.
“For nearly two decades, Julia has demonstrated impeccable judgement, courage and vision, amidst many market cycles and significant milestones including our IPO in 2018. She is the right leader to guide us into the future, protecting our balance sheet while we drive growth.”
Zhang began her career at Equitable in 2007 on the company’s derivatives and hedging team. She currently serves as Equitable’s Treasurer, where she oversees the company’s capital and liquidity management, dividend and funding strategy, and banking and rating agency relationships.
She also serves as a director and Chief Financial Officer for multiple Equitable Holdings subsidiaries and is a member of the company’s Capital and Liquidity, Hedging and Investment and Risk steering committees.
Equitable Holdings also announced that former CRO Sarfatti will continue to serve on the company’s Management Committee as its Chief Strategy Officers with expanded responsibility as Head of Institutional Businesses and New Ventures.
In this capacity, Sarfatti is charged with identifying and incubating new sources of revenue. This new role also includes P&L responsibility for the company’s institutional growth markets, including the emerging in-plan guarantee market, a compelling growth area for Equitable.
Pearson added: “In his new and expanded position, Aaron brings the deep industry expertise and strategic vision that we need to continue to innovate and capitalise on the significant opportunity ahead for our businesses.
“I would also like to thank Aaron for his many contributions to our risk function and the enterprise over the last six years. His sound judgement and leadership helped Equitable navigate times of volatility and uncertainty.”
Prior to his role as Equitable Holdings CRO, Sarfatti served as Head of Strategy for the company’s Retirement and Wealth Management businesses. He has more than two decades of experience working in financial services, life insurance and asset management.
Sarfatti started his career as a management consultant at Oliver Wyman, where he was a partner in its North American Insurance Practice and co-head of the firm’s New York office.
He was appointed by the Federal Reserve Board as an inaugural member of its Insurance Policy Advisory Committee in 2018 and, this year, assumed the role of Vice Chair.
