After 12 years at the helm, Tim Corbett, chief investment officer of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, will retire.
Eric Partlan, head of portfolio management at MassMutual, will take on the role of overseeing investment strategy and the general investment account on March 1 when Corbett steps down, the firm said Tuesday.
During Corbett’s tenure at MassMutual, the organization doubled its general investment account’s assets under management to over $220 billion, according to the company.
“Tim has played an important role in executing on our strategy and delivering outstanding investment results across our portfolios, helping us effectively manage long-term risk across various global market cycles and constantly changing economic conditions while providing value to our policyowners,” said Roger Crandall, MassMutual chairman, president, and chief executive officer in a statement.
Corbett oversaw the addition of private equity, renewable energy, and other alternative assets to MassMutual’s portfolio. He also helped launch MassMutual Ventures, a $1 billion startup investor that has backed more than 65 companies, the company said.
Prior to joining MassMutual in 2011, Corbett served for two years as CIO at Connecticut’s office of the treasurer. Other roles have included head of fixed income at asset manager McMorgan & Company; managing director at the Hartford Investment Management Co.; and head of portfolio management at Aetna.
In 2018, Corbett was a nominee for Institutional Investor’s Allocators’ Choice Awards for his “reputation for disciplined risk management.”
“We will miss Tim’s innovative spirit and relentless focus on the culture, people, and talent within the investment team and across the company,” Crandall said in his statement.
Eric Partlan, Corbett’s successor, has been with MassMutual and its predecessors for 19 years. He joined Babson Capital Management, a former subsidiary that is now a part of Barings, in 2004, working on the structured credit team.
In 2010, he officially joined MassMutual as head of investment risk, and he was promoted to head of portfolio management in 2013. Before crossing over to the investment industry, Partlan was an engineer at Boeing and B/E Aerospace.
“A testament to Tim’s strong leadership is the excellent successor that he leaves us with in Eric,” said Crandall in his statement. “As we look to the future, I am confident that Eric’s extensive investment expertise, risk management discipline, and proven leadership qualities will help us continue to grow our business and deliver on our commitments to our policyowners and customers, helping them secure their future and protect the ones they love.”
