VP Strategy & Innovation

We are Athene. At Athene, we are driven to do more. We are a leading retirement services company that issues, reinsures and acquires retirement savings products designed for the increasing number of individuals and institutions seeking to fund retirement needs. We see every day as a new opportunity to measure ourselves against the best - and then we don't stop until we've set the bar even higher. We're ready to help you achieve more.

Purpose:

We are on a mission to redefine retirement. Working at the intersection of Apollo’s New Markets business and Athene’s Strategy & Innovation, our team is building the next generation of retirement income and buffered accumulation solutions to bring to new markets. This Vice President will be at the center of leading the innovation required to bring Athene balance sheet solutions to RIAs, hybrid advisors, and other independent wealth platforms. You’ll lead the effort to identify market needs, shape product strategy, and drive business planning through execution—from platform integration to field deployment. You will also partner closely with multiple teams at Apollo and Athene including product and distribution, including Apollo teams working to embed private assets into managed accounts, ensuring seamless integration between annuity solutions and private assets.

Accountabilities:

What You’ll Do

Market & Opportunity Development:

• Own the strategy to bring retirement income and buffered annuity solutions into the RIA and independent advisor market
• Identify advisor pain points, emerging trends, and integration opportunities with private asset portfolios
• Build understanding of advisor personas, channel segmentation, and use-case-driven positioning

Product Strategy & Design:

• Collaborate with Athene’s product development team to define advisory-friendly annuity structures—simple, transparent, and aligned to fiduciary models
• Work with Apollo’s New Markets and Global Wealth product teams to identify income solutions that complement private asset allocations within managed account structures
• Influence product roadmap through field insights and platform requirements

Piloting & GTM Execution:

• Build business case and secure required investments to build and launch
• Design and execute early adopter programs and pilots with selected RIAs, aggregators, or wealth platforms
• Partner with distribution, tech, and marketing to build go-to-market plans and advisor engagement strategies
• Ensure technical readiness: data flows, billing integration, reporting, and planning software compatibility (e.g., Envestnet, eMoney, Orion, TAMPs)

Cross-Functional Leadership:

• Act as a connector across key Apollo and Athene teams—aligning product, compliance, ops, and distribution to deliver solutions that meet advisor expectations
• Ensure synergy with Apollo’s broader effort to bring private markets access into the advisor space via managed account platforms

Innovation & Thought Leadership:

• Help define what the future of retirement income looks like in a world of personalized portfolios including guaranteed/buffered solutions and private markets
• Advocate for new solution categories—income-oriented, buffered, and alternatives-integrated—tailored for the mass affluent and HNW advisor market

Qualifications and Experience:

What You Bring:

• 10+ years of experience across strategy, product, and distribution with experience in: - RIA or independent wealth channels - Advisory/fee-based annuities or structured insurance solutions - Wealthtech, SMA platforms, or private market access for advisors
• Fluency in managed accounts, portfolio construction, and the integration of insurance and alternatives.
• Experience launching complex products across internal and external stakeholders.
• Clear communicator with the ability to build alignment across product, legal, distribution, and technology teams.
• Combination of strategy experience at a top tier consulting firm plus industry experience (strategy, product, distribution) strongly preferred

Why This Role Matters:

You’ll help create and deliver the next generation of retirement solutions—blending income protection, buffered equity exposure, and alternative asset access—all in ways that are aligned with the needs of fiduciary advisors and their clients and ensure secure retirement outcomes for individuals. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of retirement solutions, backed by the capabilities of the market leading franchises of Apollo and Athene.

$215,040.00 - $322,560.00 USD Annual

Annual Salary for this role is market competitive.  Actual salary for all roles will be based upon geographic location, work experience, education, licensure requirements and/or skill level and will be finalized at the time of offer.  Depending on the role, a discretionary bonus plan or variable sales incentive may be included.

Drive. Discipline. Confidence. Focus. Commitment.  Learn more about working at Athene.

Athene is a Military Friendly Employer!  Learn more about how we support our Veterans.

Athene celebrates diversity, is committed to inclusion and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other status protected by federal, state or local law.