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Interview with Paul

Paul Sylvester, senior vice president and head of distribution for annuity product wholesaling, oversees wholesaling for MetLife and New England Financial in addition to MetLife Investors Distribution Company independent third party firms. Paul is responsible for providing professional and profitable wholesaling support and for leveraging people, products and technology, while maintaining and expanding firm level relationships. In this role, Paul leads a team of more than 350 sales professionals throughout the country and has overseen significant growth in variable annuity sales, which, in 2007, surpassed $9.3 billion in the independent, third-party space. This growth has placed MetLife solidly within the top three variable annuity companies in the industry.

Paul has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, including 15 years retail and 15 years of wholesale experience. Prior to joining MetLife, Paul was founder and president of Charon Planning, an employee and executive benefit firm. In 1998, Charon Planning was named the 211th fastest growing firm in the US according to Inc. Magazine. Charon Planning became part of NFP in 2000 and fee/commission revenue exceeded $15 million in 2003.

From 1988 through 1991, Paul was co-general agent in the Morristown, NJ agency of Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. The agency ranked second in the country with agency commissions exceeding $3.5 million annually.

Paul began his career in the insurance industry in 1980 with Union Mutual Life insurance Company (subsequently UNUM Life Insurance Company of America and currently UnumProvident Corporation). Located in Philadelphia, PA, Paul served as an employee benefit representative before assuming responsibility for individual disability insurance sales in the Mid-Atlantic Region for Unum. In 1986, Paul’s office led the country in Unum disability insurance production and earned “office of the year” honors.

Paul graduated Bowdoin College in 1978 earning a BA in both economics and sociology. At Bowdoin, Paul captained both the baseball and hockey teams. He was part of the 1976 and 1978 ECAC Div II Championship Hockey teams and was named First Team All East in 1978. In 1978, Paul tried out with the NY Rangers of the NHL and played one year in the International and East Coast hockey leagues.

He and his wife Kathy have four children and reside in Randolph, NJ.

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