Mr. Schuhmann and Mr. Smith will be responsible for MassMutual's field wholesaling force that delivers life insurance products to independent life brokerage agencies and third party marketing firms in the western and eastern regions respectively. They will develop and coordinate wholesaling and account management with business development managers to drive life insurance production with broker dealers, wire houses, banks and CPA firms within their regions.

"Both Charlie and Brad are results-driven and have extensive sales and marketing experience," Mr. Zabel said. "They will be valuable additions to our organization and a testament to our commitment to provide clients with the highest level of life insurance expertise, products and services."

Mr. Schuhmann, 53, joins MassMutual effective March 1 from Met Life Investors/Travelers Life & Annuity in Irvine, Calif., where he served as divisional sales manager. Mr. Schuhmann brings more than 27 years of experience to MassMutual. Prior to Met Life/Travelers, he spent 11 years with Lincoln Financial Group in Santa Ana, Calif., managing nationwide life insurance sales and establishing the company's Center for Excellence. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from UCLA and also holds a Chartered Life Underwriter designation and Series 6, 63 and 26 licenses. Mr. Schuhmann is a member of the Financial Planning Association, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and Society of Financial Services Professionals.

Mr. Smith, 51, joined MassMutual on December 5, 2005. Most recently he served as regional marketing director for Lincoln Financial Group in Texas, where over the course of 12 years his territory spanned 14 states and included managing several national accounts. During his nearly 25 years in the industry, he has held life insurance marketing and sales positions at Aetna and Integon Life Insurance. Mr. Smith earned a bachelor of business administration from The University of Texas and holds the Chartered Life Underwriter designation. He holds Series 6, 26 and 63 licenses.

MassMutual Financial Group companies - with more than $395 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2005 - provide life insurance, annuities, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, retirement planning products, structured settlement annuities, trust services, money management, and other financial products and services.

The MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliates, which include: OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; MML Investors Services, Inc., member FINRA and SiPC (www.finra.org www.sipc.org); The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB; MML Bay State Life Insurance Company; C.M. Life Insurance Company; and MassMutual International, Inc.

MassMutual is on the Internet at www.massmutual.com.