Board of Directors

Chair: Mr. Rob Sparling

Chief Investment Officer, Dow Inc.

In his role as Chief Investment Officer since late 2015, Rob Sparling and his team are responsible for assets of approximately $40B, which includes assets for defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, other employee benefit plans, and captive insurance companies. 

The Dow Portfolio Investments Team manages pension assets in several countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium, and works collaboratively by sharing best practices and strategies to source top quartile performance.  The Dow Team employs active and passive strategies, including in-house asset management and derivative overlays for tactical asset allocation, and various strategies to manage to duration targets

Mr. Sparling serves on several Dow committees including the Investment Committee for the DB plans in the US, the Canadian Finance Committee, the UK Trustee Board, the 401(k) Savings Plan Committee. As a director of Liana, Dow’s captive insurance subsidiary, Mr. Sparling chairs the Liana Finance Committee.

Mr. Sparling joined Dow Inc. in 1995 after earning his MBA degree in Finance at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, and a BSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from The University of Michigan in 1989.  He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2000.

Mr. Sparling stays active in his community and serves as an adjunct professor and has taught various finance classes to graduate and undergraduate students at local state and private universities.  Mr. Sparling also serves on the Board of the Midland Center for the Arts and has been a member of the investment committee for the MidMichigan Health System since 2017.

Vice Chair: Mr. Neil Roache

Assistant Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of Johnson and Johnson Pension Trust

Neil Roache joined the Johnson & Johnson benefit investments team in April of 2016 as Assistant Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of the Johnson and Johnson Pension Trust.  Neil and his team of professionals are responsible for managing all investment related activities for Johnson and Johnson’s defined benefit plans globally as well as the US defined contribution investments, which together total $55 billion.  His team is also responsible for 401k administration, share buyback programs, and administration of the company’s long term incentive programs.  He is a member of the Johnson and Johnson Benefit Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Johnson and Johnson Neil was Vice President of Private Markets and Investment Strategy at Exelon Corporation in Chicago.  Neil and his team of three were responsible for private equity, real estate, and private credit mandates as well as strategy across $35 billion of trust assets.   He previously served on the investment teams at United Parcel Service and Telcom Ventures (a family office in Washington DC).

Neil received his undergraduate degree in Finance and Accounting from Bowling Green State University and his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  He also spent 6 years in the US Marine Corps Reserves and is a licensed CPA.  Neil lives in Green Brook New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

Treasurer: Ms. Carol Tusch

CIO, International Paper

Carol Tusch is the Chief Investment Officer for International Paper’s pension and savings plans valued at over $14 billion.  She is responsible for the investment oversight of all asset classes as well as asset allocation and risk management.  She also serves as the Treasurer for IP’s Foundation, Employee Relief Fund and Quarter Century Society.

Prior to joining International Paper in 1999, Ms. Tusch spent 16 years at Verizon where she worked in the pension area and was responsible for investments in various asset classes including stocks, bonds, private equity, real estate and timber.  She was also responsible for the oversight of the savings plan investment options as well as management of the Canadian pension plan.

Carol received her MBA from University of Connecticut and has a BS in finance from Fairfield University. 

Carol lives in Stamford, CT with her husband and has three adult children.

Secretary: Jay Vivian 

Jay Vivian retired 9 days before the market peak in 2007 as head of the $135 billion IBM Retirement Funds system.  He led the Funds' successful weathering of 2001-2002's 'perfect storm' and a number of benefit redesigns, oversaw implementation of major programs in DB asset diversification and LDI, and continued development of IBM's award-winning 401(k) plan.

He holds an AB in math from Bowdoin, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a CFA charterholder.  He was vice chair of CIEBA and remains active.  He has served on a number of non-profit boards, and is now on advisory boards for Rebalance and Club Vita.

Plan Sponsor gave him their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, and he has been featured in articles and interviews in NYTimes, WSJ, USA Today, MSN Money, P&I, Institutional Investor, and aiCIO.

 

Directors

Ruth Bosco Xerox Corporation
Doug Brown Exelon Corporation
Ernie Caballero United Parcel Service
Paul Cavazos American Beacon Advisors
Robin Diamonte RTX
Vicky Erwin Eli Lilly & Company
Jon Glidden Delta Air Lines
Walter Kress Ernst & Young