Financial executive, former elected official, former appointed official
Charles E. F. Millard is an American political figure and business executive specializing in pensions and investments. He is the former Director of the United States Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Appointed by President George W. Bush, Millard was the first Director of the PBGC to be Presidentially appointed and confirmed by the United States Senate.[3] As Director, Millard was the chief executive officer of the PBGC and carried the rank of Under Secretary.
Private sector
Millard is a senior advisor for Ares Management, a large alternative investment manager and for ARS Financial, a leading developer and provider of lifetime income solutions for 401(k) plans and other Defined Contribution plans.[4] He is an independent, non-executive Director of Mount Logan Re, a Bermuda-based reinsurance firm,[5] and in the spring of 2024, after the Bermuda Monetary Authority appointed a Special Committee of independent Directors to address problems at 777 Re, he was approved by the Bermuda Monetary Authority as an Independent Director and member of the Special Committee.
Millard is also a consultant/advisor for multiple companies through Cardinal Advisors, LLC.[6] He serves as a Trustee-Director for the Independent Governance Group, a U.K. pension services firm.[7] He has also been an advisor for McKinsey, AQR Capital, and Amundi.
From 2011 through 2016 he was a managing director and Head of Global Pension Relations for Citigroup.[8] In that role he led international pension conferences and was a leading speaker at numerous pension-related conferences around the country.[9]
During this time, he was on the faculty at the Yale School of Management and taught on pensions and public policy.[10]
In March 2016, Millard led the publication of the report "The Coming Pensions Crisis."[11] This led to Millard's service on the "Project Expert Community," for the World Economic Forum's paper entitled "Investing in (and for) Our Future." The report was noteworthy for highlighting $78 trillion in unfunded retirement obligations in twenty countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report also advocated the development of more pooled defined contribution systems such as Collective Defined Contribution, Target Benefit, and Defined Ambition as methods increase retirement security.[12]
Earlier in his career in the private sector, Millard served as a managing director at both Lehman Brothers and Prudential Securities,[13] and immediately prior to joining the PBGC, Millard was a managing director at Broadway Partners in New York.[14] Millard also was an attorney with Davis Polk & Wardwell.[15][16]
Tenure at the PBGC
For over 50 years, the PBGC has insured the pensions of over 31 million Americans.[17] The agency has over 1500 employees and manages over $50 billion in investable assets. It pays out approximately $4 billion annually.[18] The PBGC is regularly at the forefront of all aspects of investment and management of pension and pension risks, and it plays a leading role in the restructuring of industries such as airlines,[19] steel,[20] and autos.[21]
Mr. Millard's tenure at PBGC was focused on reducing the corporation's long-term deficit through two initiatives-more aggressive stances in bankruptcy negotiations and greater diversification in the agency's investment policy.[22]
Under his direction the agency took aggressive positions with General Motors and Delphi in the Delphi bankruptcy cases. Those actions resulted in substantial reduction in PBGC's deficit. Overall, during Millard's tenure, the corporation's deficit was reduced from $18 billion to $11 billion.[23]
The PBGC is governed by a three-person Board, the Secretaries of Treasury, Commerce, and Labor. In February 2008, the Board adopted a new investment policy presented to it by Millard. The investment policy intended to put 45 percent of the corporation's $55 billion in equities, 45 percent in fixed income assets, and 10 percent in alternative investments. This would have tripled the chance that the agency would close its deficit. However, under new leadership in 2009, the PBGC froze the implementation of this investment policy. According to "Pensions and Investments", a trade publication, Ron Gebhardtsbauer, former PBGC actuary and head of the Actuarial Science Program at Penn State's Smeal College of Business, stated on June 16, 2010, "If the PBGC had followed Millard and invested in stocks in 2009, it could have $10 billion more in assets today."
Public Sector
Under Rudolph Giuliani, Millard served as president and chief executive officer of the New York City Economic Development Corporation[24] and Chairman of the New York City Industrial Development Agency.[25] In that role, he concluded numerous negotiations and transactions that led to the redevelopment of 42nd Street and Times Square.[26] His work included negotiations with Reuters, Conde Nast headquarters tower, the New Amsterdam Theater, and numerous other sites up and down 42nd Street and Times Square.[27]
He was responsible for negotiations with some of the city's largest employers, including Merrill Lynch and AIG, to keep thousands of jobs in New York City. As President of the EDC, he was also the landlord for Fulton Fish Market, South Street Seaport and 10 million square feet of occupied real estate. He reorganized the agency and created a system of performance reviews that resulted in numerous categories of improvement. He also privatized the then-city-owned United Nations Hotel.
[28]
He is a frequent commentator and contributor on matters of financial and retirement policy and has regularly appeared on CNN, Fox Business news, CNBC[36] and has been published in Pensions & Investments,[37] The Wall Street Journal,[38] Bloomberg,[39] and the Financial Times.[40] Millard also wrote a regular column for the New York Post.
