IRI’S 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE OPENS TO FOURTH CONSECUTIVE RECORD CROWD

TAMPA, FLORIDA – For the fourth consecutive year, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) kicked off its annual conference with record-setting attendance and sponsorship. The two-and-a-half-day conference features compelling general and breakout sessions on critical industry issues, networking opportunities, and three distinguished, innovative, and inspiring keynote speakers, including:

• Katie Ledecky, the most decorated U.S. female Olympian with 14 medals, 21 world championships, and 16 world records for swimming, will provide her Olympian-level perspective on inspiring high performance for teams and individuals in any field.

• Chris Barton, creator and founder of Shazam, a revolutionary music app that succeeded after “experts” said it was impossible, will explain how to learn a new framework of thinking to create change through technology.

• Evy Pompouras, a former Secret Service Special Agent and interrogator and host of Bravo TV’s “Spy Games,” will share her top-tier techniques for enhancing verbal and nonverbal communication skills.

The event’s first session features three insurance company executives: Kevin Hogan, President and CEO of Corebridge Financial; Grant Kvalheim, Chief Executive Officer and President of Athene; and Nick Lane, President of Equitable. During this session, moderated by Wayne Chopus, President and CEO of IRI, these industry leaders will share their perspectives on the key forces shaping the insured retirement landscape.

In his opening remarks, Chopus welcomed the 800 attendees, saying, “We’ve come so far as an organization and an industry, and I’ve never been more optimistic about our future.”

Chopus outlined several areas where IRI leads industry efforts, including public policy advocacy and IRI’s Digital First for Annuities initiative, a unique strategic objective to modernize and transform the annuity industry.

“Our influence and effectiveness helped drive successful outcomes with the enactment of the Secure Act and Secure 2.0 Act,” Chopus said. “And even now, we’re working hard to enact more reforms that will enable more workers to retire with financial security.”

He noted the association’s leadership role in opposing a U.S. Department of Labor fiduciary (DOL) rule. Chopus described IRI’s comprehensive efforts to oppose the rule, which included strong comments to DOL, rallying congressional opposition, and proactive media outreach. Ultimately, IRI co-led an industry coalition legal action that succeeded in halting the rule’s implementation until the litigation is resolved.

“But IRI is more than advocacy,” Chopus said. “As the only association representing the full industry supply chain, we have the ability to rally all stakeholders to address challenges and seize opportunities. A prime example is our Digital First for Annuities initiative.”

Chopus said that the effort has made more progress in the past two years than the industry has in the previous twenty years.

He detailed a recent industry-wide event that gathered the “best and brightest technological talent” and challenged them to develop practical, digital-first driven solutions to several critical problem scenarios within a friendly, competitive event.

The result was several promising solutions that IRI believes will deliver impactful results in streamlining processes, managing costs, and growing the market for annuity products.

“With our progress in the past year, we are well on our way to a much-needed transformation within our industry,” Chopus said.

He concluded his remarks with a call to action, “We have to make this business easier for advisors and consumers. We have to keep pushing for legislation that increases access to retirement security for all Americans. I think we are collectively ready to take this industry to places it has never been before. So why not start here? And why not start now?”

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Contact: Dan Zielinski