< The 2015 Pension 40: The Long Climb

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Denise Nappier
Treasurer / Connecticut
Last year’s rank: Not ranked

Since beginning her tenure as Connecticut’s treasurer in 1999, Denise Nappier has not been shy about voicing her opinion on how the state’s pension benefits are managed. But unlike some other state treasurers, she’s not allowed at the table when benefits with public employees are negotiated; she’s only in charge of investing the state’s nearly $30 billion retirement plan and trust fund. Nappier, 64, acknowledges the state has had challenges generating returns that meet expectations. She’s spent much of her time this year conducting an asset allocation and liability study, and reviewing the system’s preferred vendors. In the meantime, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy put forth a complex proposal in October that would split the pension system, putting off some funding for ten years to avoid payments that could cut into other areas of the budget. This year Connecticut is on the hook for $1.51 billion for its state employees’ pension fund. “When you extend the amortization schedule, you can lower payments, but it also lowers improvements on the funding ratio,” says Nappier, a Hartford native who first ran for treasurer on a platform promising not to “kick the can down the road.” In 2008, Connecticut became one of the first states to use a bond covenant to lock the plan sponsor — the state of Connecticut — into meeting its annual pension obligations. Nappier believes this “ironclad” rule will keep the governor from reducing the state’s contributions and triggering a massive balloon payment in the future. She’s also focused on ensuring greater gender and racial equality on the boards of companies the state has invested in. Her office submitted a request in April to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a rule that would bolster board diversity disclosure on proxy ballots.

 

 
The 2015 Pension 40

1. Bruce Rauner Illinois 2. John & Laura Arnold Laura and John Arnold Foundation Finding, Applying for, and Winning Grant Funding: Tips for Nonprofits Sponsored by Fidelity Investments April 29, 2025 3. Chris Christie New Jersey 4. Randi Weingarten AmericanFederation of Teachers 5. Phyllis Borzi U.S. Department of Labor

6. Kevin de León California 7. Alejandro García Padilla Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico 8. Laurence Fink BlackRock 9. Rahm Emanuel Chicago 10. Sean McGarvey North AmericanBuilding Trades Unions

11. John Kline Minnesota 12. J. Mark Iwry U.S. Treasury Department 13. Damon Silvers AFL-CIO 14. Jeffrey Immelt General Electric Co. 15. Joshua Gotbaum Brookings Institution

16. Robin Diamonte United Technologies Corp. 17. Mark Mullet Washington 18. Terry O'Sullivan Laborers' International Union of North America 19. Raymond Dalio Bridgewater Associates 20. Ted Wheeler Oregon

21. Thomas Nyhan Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund 22. Karen Ferguson & Karen Friedman Pensions Rights Center 23. Randy DeFrehn National Coordinating Committee forMultiemployer Plans 24. Robert O'Keef Motorola Solutions 25. Caitlin Long Morgan Stanley

26. Kenneth Feinberg The Law Offices of Kenneth R. Feinberg 27. Orrin Hatch Utah 28. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Center for Retirement Initiatives, Georgetown University 29. Ian Lanoff Groom Law Group 30. Joshua Rauh Stanford Graduate School of Business

31. Ted Eliopoulos California Public Employees' Retirement System 32. Edward (Ted) Siedle Benchmark Financial Services 33. Teresa Ghilarducci New School for Social Research 34. Denise Nappier Connecticut 35. W. Thomas Reeder Jr. Pension BenefitGuaranty Corp.

36. Hank Kim National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems 37. Paul Singer Elliott Management Corp. 38. Bailey Childers National PublicPension Coalition 39. Amy Kessler Prudential Financial 40. Judy Mares U.S. Labor Department