Defined Contribution

Stephen Ulian, Managing Director, is responsible for developing and executing Apollo’s Defined Contribution and Retirement strategy in collaboration with partners across our platform. Steve brings deep retirement services expertise to Apollo and Athene, paired with an impressive track record at Scudder, Fidelity and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Prior to joining the firm in 2023, Steve was Managing Director and head of Institutional Retirement Benefit Plan Sales and Consultant Relations responsible for delivering integrated financial benefits and investment solutions to companies and organizations of all sizes.

Prior to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Steve served as Executive Vice President for Fidelity Investment’s Workplace Investing Group where his management responsibilities included sales, client relationship management, product management, strategy and the delivery of integrated services. Before joining Fidelity Investments, Steve was managing director and head of Deutsche Bank/Scudder Investment's Retirement Services.

Rebecca Tadikonda is the CEO of Vitera, an affiliate of Apollo acquired in March 2025 by Apollo Global Management, Athene, and Motive Partners, and a Partner at Apollo. She leads the effort to make lifetime income a standard feature of defined contribution defaults — embedding guaranteed income inside target-date funds and managed solutions while preserving growth orientation, liquidity, and operational simplicity for plan sponsors. This approach gives American workers greater retirement confidence and reduces the risk of outliving their savings.

Prior to taking the CEO role at Vitera, Rebecca served as Head of Strategy and Innovation at Athene, and before that held multiple roles at MetLife including Head of Strategic Growth Markets in Asia, Head of MetLife Holdings in the U.S., and Chief Strategy Officer. She holds an MBA from Stanford GSB and a BA in Economics from Dartmouth.

Mr. De Feo joined Apollo in 2024 to help the firm enter the Defined Contribution marketplace and he is responsible for building platform and strategic partnerships in the space. Prior to that time, Mr. De Feo was the head of distribution for the Defined Contribution Team at Allianz Life from July 2020 to May 2024. Prior to that, Mr. De Feo was a Managing Director for DCIO sales at Voya Investment Management.

Elina Steinberg is Head of Client Portfolio Management & Marketing at Vitera, an affiliate of Apollo, and is part of the Apollo/Athene New Markets team. Prior to this, Elina was with TIAA/Nuveen as a Managing Director leading the target date Client Portfolio Management business. Elina also worked at a fund of hedge funds steering the firm’s fundraising and client services efforts,  held several roles at Lehman Brothers in the firm’s Private Equity Alternatives Advisory and Placement Group, at its subsidiary, Neuberger Berman, and in Lehman Brothers’ Private Investment Management Group.

Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, she worked as a Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton as well as at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Elina has an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a BS in Applied Economics & Management from Cornell University.

Jesal Mistry is Managing Director and Defined Contribution Lead for the UK at Apollo Global Management. In this newly created role, he is responsible for driving the growth of Apollo’s Defined Dontribution (DC) business across the UK and Europe —expanding access to Apollo’s investment capabilities and product suite for DC stakeholders including trustees, consultants, and platform providers.

Based in London, Jesal sits within Apollo’s Defined Contribution team in the firm’s New Markets business, led by Partners and Co-Heads Neil Mehta and Jon Godsall. He brings more than two decades of UK DC experience and joins Apollo from Legal & General, where he was most recently Head of Defined Contribution Investment and helped lead the launch of the firm’s private markets offering for DC investors.

Jesal is widely recognized as a thought leader on evolving DC investment solutions—including broadening high-quality diversification opportunities for DC savers—and has been an advocate for thoughtfully expanding DC access to private markets.

Ashwini Apte joined Apollo in 2025 to lead defined contribution consultant relations within the Institutional Client Group. Prior to this, Ashwini led the U.S. Institutional Defined Contribution Consultant Relations Team at BlackRock, where she was for just under 7 years. Ashwini also served as a senior defined contribution consultant at NEPC, LLC for almost 13 years, where she worked with large and mega defined contribution plan sponsors on investment selection, fiduciary governance and DC trends.

Ashwini serves on the Steering Committee for DCIIA (Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association), is a member of DCALTA (Defined Contribution Alternatives Association), and is on the Events Committee for Chicago WIP (Chicago Women's Investment Professional Organization). She also serves as the DCIIA New York City Ambassador, hosting events for various DC stakeholders in the industry. Ashwini frequently speaks at industry conferences, and on podcasts and webcasts about the DC space and regarding the unique stressors women face when thinking about retirement. She's passionate about mentorship programs within organizations.

Ashwini holds the CAIA, CIMA, AIF and AIFA designations. She graduated from Brandeis University in a 5 year accelerated Bachelors/Masters Program with a BA in Economics and a Masters in International Finance.

Hazel Durand, Principal and Head of Intermediary Distribution, is responsible executing Apollo’s Defined Contribution and Retirement strategy in collaboration with partners across the enterprise. Hazel brings 30 years of retirement and intermediary services expertise to Apollo and Athene after having served in executive management roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Nationwide Retirement, Fidelity Investments, and Citistreet.  

Prior to joining the firm in 2024, she served as a Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, responsible for managing sales consultants and partnering with Merrill Lynch branch leaders and Bank of America Relationship Management leaders on delivering new benefit programs to Merrill Lynch and Bank of America clients and prospects. Her teams brought education, training, plan design and benefits optimization to businesses ranging from mega- to small size across the US and Canada. Prior to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, she served as Regional Vice President with Nationwide leading a defined contribution distribution team serving mid- and large market non-profits, public institutions and private companies.  As a Senior Vice President for Fidelity Investment’s Institutional team, she managed a national team of sales and relationship managers tasked with helping independent RIAs and aggregators grow their business through practice management, platform tools and technology deployment. Before joining Fidelity Investments, Hazel was a Senior Vice President leading sales and relationship management teams with Citistreet supporting the 401k, 403b and public 457 markets. 

Among other interests, Hazel serves as an Executive Council Member and active fundraiser for women's cancer research at the Susan F. Smith Center at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She is also a board member of the Barnstable Clean Water Coalition focused on keeping the waters surrounding Cape Cod, Massachusetts clean.  

Ruben Gonzalez has 20+ years in defined contribution advisory, specializing in asset management, investment selection, and plan design. He guides advisors through private markets and retirement solutions, supporting comprehensive, innovative investment strategies.

Norbert Kong is a Director at Apollo Global Management, focused on expanding the adoption of private market asset classes within the Defined Contribution (DC) space.

Prior to joining Apollo, he was a Vice President in Blackstone’s Private Wealth Group, delivering private market evergreen solutions and drawdown offerings to financial advisors and high-net-worth investors in the RIA channel.

He began his career at BlackRock in the Retirement Group, partnering with plan intermediaries across the RIA and wirehouse channels to improve plan investment menus.

Norbert graduated cum laude from Saint Peter’s University with a Bachelor of Science, double majoring in Economics and Finance.

Oscar Rodriguez is also a sales leader with close to 20 years of experience in the defined contribution space, specializing in DC sales distribution strategies. His career spans three critical perspectives: the advisor lens, retention strategy on the recordkeeping side, and sales leadership within recordkeeping organizations, including experience as an external wholesaler. Oscar has led national initiatives focused on driving growth, strengthening advisor partnerships, and delivering long-term client value through enhanced product solutions. He holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Oscar resides in Southern California with his wife Jennifer and their three children, Natalie, Emily, and Christian. He will cover the Western half of the US for the Vitera/DC sales team as a Vice President of Defined Contribution Specialist.

Noah Rosen brings extensive experience in defined contribution product distribution and platform strategy. He has partnered with recordkeepers, institutional plan sponsors, aggregators, and advisor teams to drive product availability and implementation within DC plans. Most recently, Noah was with Dimensional Fund Advisors, where he worked with institutional and advisory clients to expand and implement investment solutions across the DC landscape. Noah holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, where he also competed as a collegiate golfer. He currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, Stacy, and their two daughters, Alexandra and Emily. He will cover the Eastern half of the US for the Vitera/DC sales team as a Vice President of Defined Contribution Specialist.

Alec is a Director in the Client & Product Solutions Group focusing on Opportunistic Credit and Corporate Direct Lending. Alec graduated with honors from the MBA program at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business where he completed concentrations in Analytical Finance, Behavioral Finance, and Economics. He attended undergrad at Cornell with a major in Economics.

Prior to Apollo, Alec worked at PIMCO as a senior associate in their product strategy group, focusing on alternative credit and private strategies. He is also a CFA charter holder.

Kinnard brings experience from J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York, where he supported institutional client relationships and spearheaded new business development across both defined benefit and defined contribution plans.

He collaborated closely with external client advisors and large institutional plan sponsors to deliver customized insights and investment solutions spanning multi-asset, equity, fixed income, and private market strategies.

He holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Writing, Rhetoric, and Media Arts from Trinity College – Connecticut, and possesses FINRA Series 3, 7, and 63 licenses.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Kinnard is committed to community engagement and fitness. He volunteers with organizations like Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), The Posse Foundation, and ExpandED Schools to promote educational access and equity. A former track and field athlete, he enjoys functional training and aims to continue competing in events such as HYROX.

Mr. Farinelli joined Apollo in July 2024 in the Client & Product Solutions Group as a member of the Consultant Relations Team. He is currently responsible for supporting the team's Global Strategy and Defined Contribution efforts.

Mr. Farinelli graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Environmental Economics and received an M.S. in Marketing from Northwestern University and an M.S. in Finance from Boston College, playing baseball at all three schools.

Luigi Olinto joined Apollo in 2023, as an Associate within the Transformation Management group. Prior to joining Apollo, Luigi was a Senior Analyst in Management Consulting at a Finance & Accounting consulting firm, Clearsulting, where he spent 3+ years. Prior to that time, Luigi was a Business Consultant for small business clients for a financial technology & services company, Fiserv. Prior to that, Luigi was a Risk Analyst at the University of Notre Dame's startup incubation & commercialization engine, the IDEA Center.

Luigi is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, with a BA in Economics.