Bush Names Several Appointees to PBGC
President Bush recently made several appointments to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), most notably R. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga, Tenn., has been selected to serve as chair of the PBGC Advisory Committee. Paul Clinton Harris, Sr. of Manassas, Va., and Richard A. Manka of Kansas City and Hutchinson, Kan., were also appointed to serve as members of the committee.
"The PBGC is fortunate that the president has selected three such outstanding leaders to provide counsel to the agency," said PBGC Interim Director Charles E.F. Millard. "Todd Gardenhire brings significant relevant experience to his role as chair of the PBGC Advisory Committee, and I look forward to working with him and new committee members Paul Harris and Richard Manka."
The PBGC Advisory Committee carries out several specific responsibilities outline by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), including advising on PBGC investment policies and procedures, the trusteeship of terminated plans, and other matters as determined by the PBGC.
Gardenhire is a senior vice president with the Smith Barney division of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in Chattanooga, and has served as an investment management representative on the U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council, which he chaired in 2005. He holds a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Tennessee, was appointed to the PBGC Advisory Committee in 2006, and will serve as chair until 2010.
Harris is a partner with the Shook, Hardy & Bacon law firm in Washington. He is former senior counsel and director of enterprise compliance at Raytheon Company and was a deputy associate attorney general with the U.S. Department of Justice. Harris earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Hampton University and a J.D. from George Washington University School of Law. He will serve on the PBGC Advisory Committee until 2010.
Manka is the chief investment officer for the pension plans of The Kroger Co., is chairman of the investment committee of the grocery industry's largest multiemployer pension plan, and is also chairman of the Hutchinson Community Foundation in Kansas. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and business administration and a master's degree in accounting from the University of Kansas. He will serve on the PBGC Advisory Committee until 2010.