Ryan Sullivan is a vice president of applied insights for Hartford Funds. He leads communication workshops around the country and speaks on a variety of financial and practice management topics, with a focus on retirement research from the MIT AgeLab. To date, Ryan has provided insights to audiences in 46 states and Puerto Rico, as well as led hundreds of webinars.

Ryan originally joined Hartford Funds in 1996, holding various roles of increasing responsibility. He left the company in 2012 as a vice president of advanced markets. Prior to rejoining Hartford Funds, Ryan founded a business to coach professionals on public speaking and effective communication. He was later hired by his largest client, financial-planning software company Envestnet MoneyGuide, where he was vice president and head of investor education.

In addition to his role at Hartford Funds, Ryan volunteers his time and communication expertise to help others. Since 2012, he’s led communication workshops at UNC Charlotte’s Center for Leadership and Community Engagement. He’s also a certified facilitator for TimeSlipsTM, a program through which he leads interactive storytelling sessions for people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. In addition, he leads communication workshops through Charlotte Family Housing to help empower working families experiencing homelessness to achieve self-sufficiency. Ryan also serves on Hartford Funds’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisory council.

Ryan is a registered representative of Hartford Funds Distributors, LLC, and is FINRA Series 7 and 63 registered. He holds his Life, Health, and Variable Products licenses and has earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®), and Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC®) designations. He’s also a Fellow of LOMA’s® Life Management Institute. 

Originally from Hartford, Connecticut, Ryan attended Bucknell University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Katie.

April Whitehead manages the organizational-development strategy for Hartford Funds. She’s responsible for leadership development, strengthening employee skills and knowledge, maximizing workplace efficiency, and promoting employee engagement. April also oversees the company’s culture, diversity, and inclusion programs.

April joined the organization in 2019. Prior to that, she held positions at ERT (now Clario) as a talent and organizational development manager, at Wilmington Trust as vice president of corporate learning and development, at Munich Re America as a development consultant, and BISYS (now Ascensus) as a training director. Earlier in her career, April worked in several HR functions at First Union/CoreStates Bank and as a public affairs specialist for the US Department of Defense.

April holds a bachelor’s degree in business communications from Chestnut Hill College and has successfully completed studies in Cornell University’s Human Resources program and the ASTD Human Performance Improvement Institute. She earned her MBA with a concentration in marketing from Drexel University. April also holds certifications as an instructor/facilitator for Achieve Global, DDI, BlessingWhite Leadership Programs, Crucial Conversations, Predictive Index, Hogan Assessments, and Benchmarks 360 Degree Feedback coaching. 

In the community, April lends her HR expertise by reviewing practices and facilitating strategic planning sessions for organizations such as Read Aloud Delaware, Opera Delaware, and the Urban League of Philadelphia. She is currently a board member of Camp Jamison and previously served on the Philadelphia Society of People and Strategy’s board. 

April lives in Montgomery County, PA with her husband and has three adult children and two granddaughters.