CORPaTH’s 2024 Summit and Crystal Globe Awards featured highly respected leaders in the pension community who provided insights into important trends and developments in the ongoing fight to preserve, protect and perpetuate lifetime income security for working people.

Jacques Loveall, president of UFCW 8 and chair of the UFCW Trust, welcomed attendees to the CORPaTH Summit. The audience included money managers from around North America, the UK and European countries, fund trustees, investment advisors, Union leaders and other defenders of defined-benefit pensions.

Loveall wore a Detroit Lions football jacket as he drew parallels between his love for the underdog team and the perseverance needed to fight for retirement security.

“Being a Lions fan teaches you important lessons about being an advocate for defined benefits and for life in general,” Loveall said. “Remain loyal to your belief system. When times are tough, stiffen your back.

“We know the lessons of grit, single-mindedness and determination,” he continued. “We know how to work together as a team, and how to commit so completely that it inspires others. These are the traits that make a difference.”

Loveall also invited members from the Las Vegas Culinary Union to join him on the stage to share a message from the picket line. At the time of the Summit, the workers were four weeks into a strike against the Virgin Hotel to secure a fair contract that respects their contributions. The strike was settled in January 2025.

Damon Silvers, visiting professor of practice in Labour Markets and Innovation at the University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), addressed the importance of charting the right course for the future of defined-benefit pension plans.

“You in this room have the great honor to be able to actually affect what happens to retirement security in this country. You have the capacity to determine whether or not the years to come are going to be ones of crisis or ones of prosperity.”

–Damon Silvers

The Defined-Benefit Plans Panel featured moderator Jason Russell, senior vice president and actuary at The Segal Group; Dan Doonan, executive director of the National Institute on Retirement Security; Kendal Killian, executive director of the National Public Pension Coalition; and Michael Scott, Executive Director for the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP).

The panelists discussed trends in the defined benefit pension world, from legislation to protect and enhance plans as well as how employers can attract the best candidates by offering a strong pension.

The Workers’ Capital panel, moderated by John Elliot, a partner at the NEPC investment counseling firm, featured Sarah Bernstein, managing principal and head of sustainability at Meketa Investment Group; Hugues Létourneau, associate director of the secretariat of the Global Unions’ Committee on Workers’ Capital; and Damon Silvers.

The panelists explored ways to protect and grow capital by investing in smart and responsible ways while anticipating market changes that may be brought on by a new administration.

The Trustees Panel, moderated by CORPaTH Director of Trustee Outreach Ron Lind, featured Max Carter II, IBEW Trustee and a member of the Nevada State Assembly; David Weissman, a member of the board of directors at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott; and Mullissa Willette, a CalPERS board member and president of SEIU Local 521.

The panelists discussed how trustees can shape the future of retirement benefits by focusing on plans which have longevity and making investments that both generate good returns and reward pro-worker, pro-Union companies.

The Consultants Panel, moderated by Ellen Anreder, CORPaTH’s managing director, featured David Brenner, senior vice president at The Segal Group; Leandro Festino, senior consultant at Meketa Investment Group; and Tim McCusker, chief investment officer at NEPC. The panelists detailed how, while defined-benefit pension plans are the anchor of a dignified retirement, there are additional ways to enhance a retiree’s financial wellbeing.

Crystal Globe Awards

CORPaTH’s 2024 Crystal Globe Awards event honored four pension defenders whose work in the defined-benefit world is an inspiration to all who fight on behalf of working people:

• Ed Smith, the former chairman and CEO of Ullico, was honored posthumously with a Crystal Globe Award for his tremendous impact in the pension world. Brian Hale, CEO and president of Ullico, accepted the award on Smith’s behalf.
• Jimmy Beloff, senior managing director of institutional services at Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, received a Crystal Globe Award in honor of his work to ensure workers can enjoy a dignified retirement. Beloff was introduced by Intercontinental Chairman and CEO Peter Palandjian, who praised his colleague’s ability to create genuine friendships among his business associates and his mentorship of a new generation of investors.
• Bea Bruske, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), was unable to attend the ceremony after being called on to mediate an end to the monthlong Canada Post strike which affected 55,000 workers. Accepting the award on Bruske’s behalf was Jacques Loveall, who said: “In her role as president of the CLC, she is leading the charge to protect retirement security for Canadian workers. We thank you for all you have done for working people.”
• Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS, was honored with a Crystal Globe for her success in strengthening the retirement security for hundreds of thousands of California’s public employees. “It means a lot to me to be recognized as a pension defender,” Frost said. “It really has been more than a career for me. I’ve spent 24 years in the pension business now, but it feels much more like a calling.”

“I am someone who likes to debate. I’m someone who likes to stand up for the right thing. And the right thing is a defined benefit pension plan.”

–Marcie Frost

Prior to the awards ceremony, labor economist and retirement security expert Teresa Ghilarducci signed copies of her acclaimed book, Work, Retire, Repeat, and addressed the audience in a keynote speech.

“We have to get behind the concept of pensions for all, because we have to ward off pension envy among workers,” she said.

“The way to a stronger retirement system for ourselves is to push for a stronger retirement system for everybody.”