Position: Executive Director

Organization: Council of Institutional Investors

Location: Washington, DC Metro Area

Reporting Relationship: Board of Directors

Website: https://www.cii.org/

The Council of Institutional Investors, (CII), is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of U.S. public, corporate and union employee benefit funds, other employee benefit plans, state and local entities charged with investing public assets, and foundations, and endowments with combined assets under management of approximately $5 trillion. Our member funds include major long term shareowners with a duty to protect the retirement savings of millions of workers and their families, including public pension funds with more than fifteen million participants – true “Main Street” investors through their pension funds. Our associate members include non-U.S. asset owners with about $5 trillion in assets, and a range of asset managers with more than $55 trillion in assets under management. CII is a leading voice for effective corporate governance, strong shareowner rights and sensible financial regulations that foster fair, vibrant capital markets. CII promotes policies that enhance long term value for U.S. institutional asset owners and their beneficiaries.

CII was founded in 1985, a time of corporate takeovers, imperial CEOs, and insulated boards of directors. Shareowners had little said in most corporate decisions and did not appreciate the potential power of their proxy votes. The founders were a group of twenty-one visionaries, most public pension fund officials, who believed that the companies in which they were investing their members’ retirement assets needed more oversight by shareholders. They also felt that by pooling their resources, institutional investors could use their burgeoning proxy power to hold companies accountable.

CII educates members, and the public, about best corporate governance practices and provides opportunities for members to interact with peers, investment executives and policymakers. CII is a diverse community of professionals who come together to learn, share perspectives and advocate. CII's member-approved governance policies are the backbone of the advocacy work we do, and they represent the melding of a diverse range of interests.

CII advocates on behalf of our members with companies, legislators, regulators, and other key market participants. We have long-standing relationships with contacts on the Senate Banking Committee, the House Committee on Financial Services, and the SEC Commissioners and staff, as well as excellent working relationships with key contacts at the Financial Accounting Standards Board and U.S. stock exchanges. CII enjoys a reputation for honesty, leadership, thoughtful analysis, and creative consensus-building. Investors, lawmakers, regulators, corporate officials, and leaders of other public interest groups look to CII for expertise and ideas.

CII engages with key market participants across the investor spectrum, including public pension systems, corporate retirement funds, foundations, endowments, labor union funds, asset managers, exchanges, credit rating agencies, legislators and regulators and other service providers.

Membership in CII is an opportunity to strengthen relationships with shareholders, asset owners and asset managers and stay in tune with US asset owner sentiment on investment-related issues in governance and markets.

The Executive Director is the highest-level executive position within CII, reporting directly to the Board of Directors. The board consists of 15 directors representing public, union and corporate employee benefit funds across the country who are deeply committed to good corporate governance and investor protection. The Executive Director is the organization’s primary spokesperson to a variety of senior decision makers in government, the financial markets, the business community broadly and organizations that focus on corporate governance, shareholder rights and related investment issues, in the United States and abroad.

The Executive Director will be an accomplished visionary leader who will guide the council’s future growth, relevancy, and impact. They will passionately advocate for the organization and the community before diverse audiences. The Executive Director will have a demonstrated record of accomplishment for collaborating with various stakeholders to forge a robust vision for an organization in a dynamic, disruptive environment and leading organizational transformation to achieve desired outcomes.

The Executive Director will possess executive presence and influence skills, essential for garnering the trust and engagement of the Board of Directors, membership, staff, and other external stakeholders.

They will preferably have ten years of executive-level leadership experience for an organization of comparable complexity. The successful candidate will have a solid record of reliable delivery and general management experience, either as an Executive Director or with a proven record of successfully leading several functions. The Executive Director will be responsible for evolving the council’s operating model and structure and lead the Executive Leadership Team of ten direct reports to maximize effectiveness and innovation.

Four-year college degree; advanced degree(s) a plus

A competitive compensation package will be provided to attract outstanding candidates.