U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Appoints 2006 ERISA Advisory Council and Leadership Posts

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - Today Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced the appointment of five new members for the 2006 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans and this year’s leadership for the council. New members are appointed to serve three-year terms.

The five new appointees and their council positions are: William L. Scogland of Chicago, Illinois, representing employers; Dennis Simmons of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, representing investment management; Edward A. Schwartz of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, representing the general public; Robert M. Archer of Southampton, New York, representing employee organizations; and Edward S. Mollahan of Andover, New Jersey, representing corporate trust.

William Scogland is a senior partner in Jenner & Block’s Chicago office where he chairs the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice. He counsels clients on benefits issues in merger and acquisition transactions, the implications of bankruptcies, investments by Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plans and ERISA fiduciary issues.

Dennis Simmons is principal and senior counsel responsible for Vanguard’s ERISA Legal Department. He has worked on retirement savings initiatives for Vanguard’s retirement plan sponsors and participants, including participant education and advice services, disclosures related to investment and plan costs, and Vanguard’s automatic enrollment plan design services.

Edward Schwartz is president of the investment firm Gregory J. Schwartz & Co. Inc. Schwartz focuses on both defined contribution and defined benefit plans. He has extensive experience helping retirement plan participants in understanding their investments.

Robert Archer is a senior labor partner in the Labor and Employee Benefits Department of the New York–based law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein P.C. Archer currently serves as counsel to numerous multi-employer plans and unions in the construction, service and entertainment industries. He lectures widely on employee benefits and labor-related issues.

Edward Mollahan is senior vice president at JP Morgan Chase Bank. He has over 20 years of experience in pension management, corporate trust and employee benefits. Mollahan is currently responsible for new business development, client management and consultant programs.

The 2006 Advisory Council chair is Sherrie Grabot of San Jose, California.  Grabot is president of GuidedChoice, a company that provides investment advice to 401(k) plans. She was vice chair of the Advisory Council in 2005. In 2004, her first year on the council, she served as the vice chair of the Working Group on Plan Fees and Reporting on the Form 5500.

This year’s vice chair is James D. McCool of Akron, Ohio. In his second year on the council, McCool is senior vice president, corporate and retirement services, of Charles Schwab. At Schwab, he oversees services to bundled 401(k) and other employee benefit plans.

The ERISA Advisory Council consists of 15 members appointed by the Secretary of Labor to terms of three years. The terms of five members expire each November 14, the end of the council year. The members represent various stakeholders in the employee benefits community.

The reports of the 2005 ERISA Advisory Council and additional information about the council are available at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Contact Name: David James/Gloria Della
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