Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 6, 2025 15 Nassau Financial Group employees Ramprasad "Ram" Narasimhan (left) and Melissa Lewis (right) play pickleball during a September lesson on the company's new court. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer Healthy Returns Nassau's wellness program, fitness amenities attract steady workforce — and even tenants — in Hartford tower health regimen. In the depths of the pandemic, while staff worked remotely, more than 100 regularly logged on, Remieres said. Today, Nassau Fitness has about 40 active users. The idea is to eventu- ally have people "graduate" from the program, he said. Employees can still earn extra one-on-one attention, with Nassau offering the "personal health award" for outstanding quarterly job performance. Winners choose from perks such as personal training, yoga classes, nutrition services or massage therapy. Since 2018, 129 employees have claimed the reward. Employee perspective Participation in Nassau's wellness programs has grown from 20% in 2018 to 68% in 2024, among roughly 550 staff companywide. "I just love it, because you can get your fitness in and it's a nicer gym than you would probably get with a private membership someplace," said Kristen Culbertson, a director of actuary assigned to Nassau's Hartford headquarters. Remieres is helping Culbertson's husband, who also works at Nassau, train for a 5K run. The company covers registration fees for staff at dozens of marathons, walks, ironman competitions and other events each year. Nassau Chairman and CEO Phil Gass created an employee triathlon team in 2022. Today, it has about three dozen members. Nassau expects to spend over $150,000 — excluding staffing costs — on fitness and wellness offerings in 2025, including in-house programs and events; retreats; and nearly 200 registration fees for more than two dozen community-based races. It already has 20 people registered for the Oct. 11 Hartford Marathon. On a recent Monday afternoon at Nassau's fitness center, Culbertson followed a video instructor through a sequence of barre poses — a blend of ballet, Pilates and yoga. Enjoying the session next to her was Ana Pope, a friend. "I've worked at other places before and one of them had a beautiful gym, but at Nassau, they actually encourage you to go to the gym and work out and get involved," said Pope, a senior investor relations associate with Nassau Asset Management. "At the other places I've worked, even with nice facilities, there isn't any culture around it, and you almost feel bad using them." Nassau is sponsoring Pope in an October marathon relay and has backed her participation in other athletic events, including a dragon boat rowing team. In July, Nassau employees held a pickleball tournament on the company's newly built court in the Boat Building's courtyard at 1 American Row. Sixteen employee teams competed, raising $1,100 for Connecticut Foodshare. By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com K ostas "Gus" Cheliotis arrived in Hartford nearly a decade ago to help oversee Nassau Financial Group's $217.2 million acquisition of The Phoenix Cos., including the financial services company's iconic "Boat Building" headquarters. It wasn't long before Cheliotis — a marathon runner and former college football player — sought out the fitness facilities in Phoenix's headquarters. "There was an old locker room that was pretty dusty and out of use," Cheliotis, now 47, recalled. Since its 2015 purchase, Nassau has strengthened what had been a struggling company. As that turnabout has taken place, Nassau has cultivated a workplace culture that prioritizes fitness, anchored by substantial facilities and a robust wellness and recreation program at its Hartford headquarters, said Cheliotis, who is the general counsel and chief operating officer. The latest additions are a pickleball court and putting green in the court- yard at the base of the Boat Building — symbols of Nassau's push to make wellness central to office life. "It's to strengthen our team cohe- siveness, attract talent and make sure we are investing in our team in a way that is healthy and doing it in a way that is authentic to us," Cheliotis recently told the Hartford Business Journal. "Because that's who we are. We work hard. Some of the require- ments of physical fitness is you have to work hard for it. You have to show up for it. It's some of the same requirements for a healthy company." Founded in 2015, Nassau provides insurance, annuities and investment products. The company has grown to $1.6 billion in total adjusted capital, with $25.5 billion in assets under management, along with 363,000 policies and contracts in force as of the end of June. Cheliotis said the company's approach to wellness is paired with a focus on team building. In part, it's a rejection of the every-man-for-himself culture he and other Nassau execu- tives had seen on Wall Street. More than a passing investment The once neglected locker rooms in Nassau's Boat Building have been completely remodeled, accompanied now by a modern fitness center outfitted with dozens of cardio and strength-training machines, as well as a group fitness studio. "We have anything anyone would want at a conventional gym and more," said Michael Remieres, Nassau's full- time fitness center manager. When Nassau first acquired Phoenix Cos., staff turned to the Downtown Hartford YMCA in nearby State House Square for access to fitness equipment. In 2018, Remieres was a personal trainer working at the YMCA when Nassau contracted him to provide one-on-one training as a reward for top performers. By then, the company had set up a modest exercise area with a few free weights and treadmills, Remieres recalled. The next year, Nassau converted three conference rooms into a larger fitness center and brought Remieres on full time to oversee its fitness program. Today, Nassau hosts about 15 weekly classes at lunchtime and after work, with live instruction ranging from kickboxing and strength training to Pilates. There are also occasional special events, including baby goat yoga, fencing and the annual "Nassau's Strongest" competition. The fitness center is open to Nassau staff who occupy the top five floors of the Boat Building's 12-story tower, as well as four tenants that occupy six floors. The company employs about 550 people nationally, including 300 in Connecticut, most of whom work four days a week in the Hartford office. Remieres — with degrees in well- ness, exercise science and nutrition — helps staff with injury recovery, fitness and diet. During the pandemic, the company adopted a fitness app, branded "Nassau Fitness," that offers video exercises and a personalized Continued on next page Kostas Cheliotis

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