Craig Hawley brings more than 30 years of financial services industry experience to his role as President and Chief Operating Officer of Nationwide Financial, a position he assumed in September 2025. In this role, Craig oversees Nationwide’s diverse portfolio of financial services businesses—including annuity, life insurance (individual, business and corporate-owned), mutual funds, retirement solutions, employer stop loss, pension risk transfer, securities-backed lending and pet insurance—with a focus on delivering innovative income and protection solutions to help individuals and businesses achieve their financial planning goals.

Throughout his career, Craig has demonstrated a deep commitment to creating greater value for financial professionals, partners and their clients. He joined Nationwide in 2017 following the acquisition of Jefferson National, where he led the business—renamed Nationwide Advisory Solutions—until its integration into Nationwide Annuity in 2019. He was then appointed to lead Nationwide Annuity Distribution, overseeing commission- and fee-based annuity sales across all channels.

In 2022, Craig expanded his leadership scope by heading Nationwide Retirement Solutions Distribution, where his team managed more than $175 billion in assets and supported over 2.5 million participants in preparing for and living in retirement. Most recently, he served as President of Nationwide Annuity, a top 10 annuity provider in the U.S., representing more than $130 billion in assets in 2024.

Prior to Nationwide, Craig served as General Counsel and Secretary at Jefferson National. He also held roles as Assistant General Counsel at ARM Financial Group, Inc. and Associate at Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.

Craig holds a J.D. and B.S. in Business Management from the University of Louisville, where he played basketball from 1986-1990. He is a member of the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) Board of Directors, LIMRA Annuity Advisory Board, University of Louisville College of Business Board of Advisors and the Star House Board of Trustees. He also served as Nationwide’s executive sponsor for Pelotonia.

Craig and his wife Julie are proud parents of twins Caleb (son) and Jordan (daughter).