Listen to this articleAiming to support plans for long-term growth and accountability across its global offerings, Prudential Financial is shaking up its senior leadership structure.
According to a Dec. 18 announcement from the Newark-based company, the business changes realign the executive structure to streamline operations in its largest markets and sharpen its focus on potential growth areas.
Under the moves, leaders for Prudential’s U.S. businesses, Emerging Markets, the Japan Group and asset management business PGIM will not report directly to CEO Andrew “Andy” Sullivan.
The latest updates come about a year after Pru announced the leadership transition that under which Sullivan succeeded Charles Lowrey in the lead executive position. Meanwhile, the outgoing chief executive officer moved into the role of chairman of the board.
“We are aligning our leadership structure with our strategy to build a more agile, more focused Prudential,” Sullivan said in last week’s announcement. “This change positions us to deliver stronger and more consistent performance over time.”
Prudential said its main priorities include evolving its strategy, executing with consistency and discipline, and fostering a high-performance culture.
As a result, Pru tapped Phil Waldeck as executive vice president and head of Prudential’s U.S. Businesses, effective Feb. 2, 2026. Waldeck currently serves as head of multi-asset and quantitative solutions at PGIM.
Waldeck will now report directly to Sullivan, along with:
- David Legher, head of emerging markets
- Brad Hearn, the Japan Group president and CEO
- Jacques Chappuis, president and CEO, PGIM
As part of the most-recent changes, Prudential also said Global Head of Retirement and Insurance Caroline Feeney will depart the company.
The December changes also align with leadership appointments made in Prudential’s Japan business, earlier this year.
Changing it up
Now in its 150th year, Prudential has recently been busy reworking its internal structure.
In addition to the CEO transition, 2025 also marked the advancement of Yanela Frias from the Group Insurance division to succeed Ken Tanji as chief financial officer.
Layoffs at the global financial services leader and active global investment manager also continued in 2025.
In 2023, Prudential confirmed it would trim its executive staff to control costs, overhaul operations and reduce market sensitivities. In 2024, the company announced more than 600 job cuts in WARN notices filed with the state.
Since disclosing 57 layoffs in July of this year, Prudential filed additional WARN notices in 2025 affecting a total 126 positions, according to state records. Effective dates for the latest range from Nov. 16–Dec. 16, 2025, and Jan. 9–Feb. 9, 2026.
With approximately $1.6 trillion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, Prudential has operations in the U.S., Asia, Europe and Latin America. It serves more than 50 million customers across over 50 countries.
