MetLife, the New York City-based provider ofinsurance, annuities and benefit programs with $70 billion in 2011revenue, appointed Edward Spehar head of investorrelations. He replaces John McCallion, who is becoming CFO forMetLife's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Spehar, 47,previously was a sell-side equity research analyst coveringpublicly traded insurers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch for 19years. Earlier, he held similar positions at Lehman Brothers andAmeritrust.

NII Holdings, the$6.7 billion provider of mobile communications services in LatinAmerica, named Juan Figuereo CFO and executivevice president. He succeeds Gokul Hemmady, who wasnamed COO of the Reston, Va.-based company. Figuereo, 54, picturedat right, previously was CFO and executive vice president atNewell Rubbermaid. Earlier, he served as CFO at Cott Corp. and vicepresident of mergers and acquisitions at Wal-Mart International.Figuereo also spent 15 years in finance and management positions atPepsiCo.

U.S. Silica Holdings, a $295 million producerof commercial silica that is based in Frederick, Md., appointedDonald Merril CFO and vice president of finance.He succeeds William White, who will retire.Merril, 48, was CFO and senior vice president at Myers Industriesfrom 2006 to 2012 and earlier served as CFO and vice president forthe Rubbermaid home products division at Newell Rubbermaid.