WASHINGTON – President Donald J. Trump has appointed the following members to serve on the Advisory Committee of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation:
Henry Charles Eickelberg of Florida, Jeanmarie Grisi of New Jersey, Babette Ann Ceccotti of New Jersey, Guy Pinkman of Nebraska, Donald J. Butt of Colorado, Regina T. Jefferson of the District of Columbia and Jackson Miller of Florida.
“These are excellent appointments who represent plan sponsors, participants and the public. I am looking forward to working with them,” said PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis.
The experience and expertise of the seven-member Advisory Committee will advise the agency on investment policy and other matters related to PBGC’s mission.
Eickelberg will serve as the chair of the Advisory Committee. Eickelberg is an adjunct professor of law and faculty advisor for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act certificate program at the Georgetown University Law Center. A certified public accountant, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from DePaul University and a Juris Doctor and a Master of Laws from John Marshall Law School. He will represent the interests of employers.
Grisi is head of global pensions at Nokia. Based out of its offices in Murray Hill, NJ, she is responsible for the oversight of investments and accounting for the Nokia global pension and post-retirement benefit trusts totaling over $37 billion. Grisi serves on the National Board of the Girl Scouts of the USA, is a director of Vantage Trust Company, LLC and is a current member and past treasurer and board member of the Committee on Investment in Employee Benefit Assets Inc. She is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, NY. She will represent the interests of employers.
Ceccotti is a retired partner from Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP in New York City, where she focused on employee benefits and bankruptcy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Clark University and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School. She will represent the interests of employee organizations.
Pinkman served as acting chief and captain/paramedic for the Lincoln Fire Rescue Department. Additionally, he has served as a trustee on the Lincoln Police and Fire Pension Fund for over 10 years and is a sought-after speaker worldwide on pensions including funding status, fiduciary responsibilities and numerous other pension issues. Pinkman holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He will represent the interests of employee organizations.
Butt serves on the Board of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and is active with the Committee for the Investment of Employee Benefit Assets. Prior to that, Butt retired as the vice president for operations and defined contribution plans for Qwest Asset Management Co. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Metropolitan State College in Denver and an MBA from the University of Denver. He will represent the interests of the general public.
Jefferson is a professor of law at the Catholic University of America, where she teaches courses in Federal Income Taxation, ERISA: Pensions Tax Policy, and Partnership Taxation. Jefferson holds a Bachelor of Science from Howard University, a law degree from George Washington University and a Master of Laws from Georgetown University. She will represent the interests of the general public.
Miller previously served on the PBGC Advisory Committee from 2008 to 2011. He retired as vice president for General Motors Asset Management in New York and served on the Investment Committee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust. Prior positions included vice president-relationship management at J.P. Morgan Investment Management, vice president of investments at Philip Morris and director of investments at Eli Lilly. Miller holds an undergraduate degree in international relations from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He will represent the interests of the general public.
About PBGC:
PBGC protects the pension benefits of nearly 37 million Americans in private-sector pension plans. The agency operates two separate insurance programs — one covering pension plans sponsored by a single-employer and another covering multiemployer pension plans, which are sponsored by more than one employer and maintained under collective bargaining agreements. PBGC is currently responsible for the benefits of about 1.5 million people in failed pension plans. PBGC receives no taxpayer dollars. Its operations are financed by insurance premiums, investment income, and, for the Single-Employer Program, assets and recoveries from failed single-employer plans. For more information, visit PBGC.gov.