The Future of Retirement Income with Athene CEO Grant Kvalheim (Ep. 120)
Helping clients create dependable retirement income has become one of the biggest challenges financial professionals face as pensions continue disappearing.
In this episode, Jeremy Houser welcomes Grant Kvalheim, CEO of Athene to discuss how the retirement income industry is evolving. Grant shares Athene’s approach to long-term growth, transparency, product innovation, and private credit investing while explaining why lifetime income continues to become a larger part of retirement planning.
He also explores opportunities to improve the annuity experience for consumers and financial professionals, along with the leadership principles that have helped guide Athene’s continued growth.
Key takeaways:
- How lifetime income solutions are evolving as fewer workers retire with traditional pension benefits.
- Why private credit plays an important role in supporting competitive retirement income products today.
- How transparency, financial discipline, and long-term planning influence Athene’s business decisions.
- Why improving the consumer and advisor experience can expand access to retirement income products.
- How leadership, vision, and continual innovation support sustainable growth over many years.
- And more!
Connect with Grant Kvalheim:
Connect with Jeremy Houser:
- jeremy.houser@simplicitygroup.com
- 713-808-8548
- Schedule a Call
- Our Teams Website
- Connect with Jeremy
- @jeremyhouser_amp
- @jeremyhouserAMP
About Our Guest:
Grant Kvalheim is CEO of Athene, where he is responsible for expanding market share, prioritizing innovation, entering new markets and leading the company through its next phase of growth. As CEO, he serves on Athene’s board and is a member of the Executive Committee. Grant joined Athene in January 2011 as its CFO and later served as President, a role he held until July 2025.
As President, Grant was responsible for running the company’s U.S. operations with a focus on growing organic origination. In that capacity, he led Athene’s entry into the U.S. annuity business, where it has become the market leader. He also developed Athene’s Funding Agreement program, where Athene is the largest issuer, and guided Athene’s Pension Group Annuity franchise.
Prior to joining Athene, Grant was Co-President of Barclays Capital, where he grew the European investment-grade credit business into a leading global credit franchise. Earlier in his career, he held senior executive positions in the investment banks of Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch.
Grant holds a B.S. degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College, and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Chicago. Grant currently serves on the board of directors of the American Council of Life Insurers, Great Outdoors Foundation, SolHealth, Mottahedeh & Co., Inc., and a member of the Geneva Association.
Disclosure #: 5717541 – 0726
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