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

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

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