The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), a leading provider, along with its subsidiaries, of insurance, retirement plan funding vehicles and investment products, and employee benefits, has expanded its Retirement Solutions national sales force with the appointment of Eric Jones as regional vice president for Florida.

"Eric Jones brings 18 years of retirement plan experience to his role at Guardian. He is a respected professional within Florida's financial services industry and has built working relationships that go far beyond providing financial products. Eric's mission is to offer proven retirement solutions for a wide range of qualified plans, including 401(k), profit sharing and defined benefit plans that are designed especially for the needs of business owners and their employees," said Dale Magner, vice president, Retirement Product Sales, Guardian. "Eric joins over a dozen new regional vice presidents who have joined Guardian to meet the enormous demand for specialized retirement products from small and medium-sized businesses across the country."

Mr. Jones joins Guardian from Benetech, Inc. where he was a Regional Pension Consultant for over 10 years. He previously held senior executive positions with A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. and Principal Financial Group.

Over the past year, Guardian has hired more than 14 new regional vice presidents alongside an expanded internal sales support team. The regional vice presidents are responsible for sales and support of Guardian's group retirement products across all distribution channels.