Mike Downing is Co-President of Athene USA and Chief Operating Officer of Athene Holding. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations including maintaining the company’s cost structure advantage, unlocking demand for annuities by improving the customer experience, and leading industry adoption of the Insured Retirement Institute's Digital First initiative.

After joining Athene in 2015, Mike served as Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary, where he oversaw the traditional financial reporting functions, along with product development, inforce management, and product pricing across all key business channels. He was elevated to Chief Operating Officer in 2022 and led many initiatives to make retail annuities easier to understand and use. 

Before joining Athene, Mike held senior executive roles at The Allstate Corporation. Previously, he was a Senior Partner at Aon Hewitt, leading the International Consulting practice following assignments in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. 

Mike holds a B.A. degree in mathematics from Gustavus Adolphus College. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and he currently serves on the boards of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, ChildServe, the Federation of Iowa Insurers and the Insured Retirement Institute.