Charles E.F. Millard Jr. ’79 named pension director

Karen Sharpe

When he was sworn in by fellow alumnus Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas ’71 this past December, Charles E.F. Millard Jr. ’79 took control of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal insurance program for America’s corporate pension plans.

Millard is one of eight Holy Cross alumni siblings, a legacy graduate, and the father of nine children, aged 6 months to 16 years old. He attributes much of his personal and professional success to the academic and spiritual grounding he received while a student at Holy Cross.

“Father Brooks as President and Father Manning as chaplain crystallized for me the concept of being a person for others,” Millard says. “I never thought at the time that leading PBGC would be a way of carrying out that charge—but today I certainly feel that protecting retirement security qualifies as loving thy neighbor.”

In addition to volunteering with the JVC immediately after college, Millard has held a number of public service positions during his career, including president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and chairman of the New York City Industrial Development Agency. In 2006, Congress elevated the PBGC leadership position—Millard is the first director to be appointed by a United States president. The PBGC oversees the pensions of 1.3 million people and manages $55 billion in assets.

Millard takes his new duties personally.

“With the magnitude of the job comes a deep sense of responsibility to help PBGC be the best steward that it can be,” says Millard. “I am fortunate to have acquired financial management and executive leadership skills in my business career that help me manage needed change at PBGC.”