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The 2015 Pension 40: Joshua Gotbaum
No. 15 Joshua Gotbaum, Guest Scholar, Economic Studies Program / Brookings Institution


Joshua Gotbaum was absent from the 2014 Pension 40 ranking after stepping down after four years running the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Now settled in a new role as a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, the 64-year-old Gotbaum — son of Victor Gotbaum, a legendary New York labor leader, and stepson of Betsy Gotbaum, a two-term New York City public advocate — is back with gusto. Under his tenure the PBGC championed the cause of defined benefit plans and retirement security, and pragmatic reform remains his calling card. Since leaving, Gotbaum, who suffered minor injuries on the Amtrak train that derailed outside Philadelphia in May, has continued both his public pronouncements and his behind-the-scenes work. He has had a hand in three major policy initiatives to come out of the administration in the past 12 months: The Kline-Miller Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014; Department of Labor guidance opening the door to state-run retirement programs; and DoL guidance clarifying how ERISA fiduciaries should handle environmental, social responsibility and corporate governance factors. He says he “pushed” for state retirement accounts, the guidance on ESG and steps to try to save struggling union pension plans. “I helped a variety of groups make their case,” he says. “I’m very happy that all three happened.” The former investment banker, who has served in every Democratic administration going back to Jimmy Carter’s, recognizes that more work remains. In September he and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (No. 28), among others, were appointed to the Commission on Maryland Retirement Security and Savings to design a retirement savings plan for workers at Maryland companies that don’t offer pension or savings benefits.
![]() 2. John & Laura Arnold Laura and John Arnold Foundation ![]() 3. Chris Christie New Jersey ![]() 4. Randi Weingarten AmericanFederation of Teachers ![]() 5. Phyllis Borzi U.S. Department of Labor |
![]() 6. Kevin de León California ![]() 7. Alejandro García Padilla Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico ![]() 8. Laurence Fink BlackRock ![]() 9. Rahm Emanuel Chicago ![]() 10. Sean McGarvey North AmericanBuilding Trades Unions |
![]() 11. John Kline Minnesota ![]() 12. J. Mark Iwry U.S. TreasuryDepartment ![]() 13. Damon Silvers AFL-CIO ![]() 14. Jeffrey Immelt General Electric Co. ![]() 15. Joshua Gotbaum Brookings Institution |
![]() 16. Robin Diamonte United Technologies Corp. ![]() 17. Mark Mullet Washington ![]() 18. Terry O'Sullivan Laborers' International Union of North America ![]() 19. Raymond Dalio Bridgewater Associates ![]() 20. Ted Wheeler Oregon |
![]() 21. Thomas Nyhan Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund ![]() 22. Karen Ferguson & Karen Friedman Pensions Rights Center ![]() 23. Randy DeFrehn National Coordinating Committee forMultiemployer Plans ![]() 24. Robert O'Keef Motorola Solutions ![]() 25. Caitlin Long Morgan Stanley |
![]() 26. Kenneth Feinberg The Law Offices of Kenneth R. Feinberg ![]() 27. Orrin Hatch Utah ![]() 28. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Center for Retirement Initiatives, Georgetown University ![]() 29. Ian Lanoff Groom Law Group ![]() 30. Joshua Rauh Stanford Graduate School of Business |
![]() 31. Ted Eliopoulos California Public Employees' Retirement System ![]() 32. Edward (Ted) Siedle Benchmark Financial Services ![]() 33. Teresa Ghilarducci New School for Social Research ![]() 34. Denise Nappier Connecticut ![]() 35. W. Thomas Reeder Jr. Pension BenefitGuaranty Corp. |
![]() 36. Hank Kim National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems ![]() 37. Paul Singer Elliott Management Corp. ![]() 38. Bailey Childers National PublicPension Coalition ![]() 39. Amy Kessler Prudential Financial ![]() 40. Judy Mares U.S. Labor Department |