Gordon Hartogensis
Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Assumed office
May 15, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byThomas Reeder
Personal details
Born (1970-06-17) June 17, 1970 (age 53)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseGrace Chao
EducationStanford University (BS in Computer Science)
Columbia University (MS in Technology Management)

Gordon Hartogensis (born June 17, 1970) is an American businessman, investor, and government official who has served as the Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) since 2019.[1][2]

Business career

Hartogensis left a brief career on Wall Street to join two classmates from Stanford as an equal partner in a startup software company called Petrolsoft Corporation. After the company was acquired by Aspen Technology, Hartogensis served in a leadership role until June 2002.[3][4]

Shortly after his departure from Aspen Technology, Hartogensis founded Auric Technology LLC. As founder and chief executive officer, he was instrumental in the development of customer relationship management software solutions and support. Auric Technology was sold to Telnorm in 2011.

After the sale of Auric Technology, he managed a portfolio of private equity, venture capital, real estate, and angel investments. He also served as an advisor to several portfolio companies.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)

Hartogensis was nominated for the position of Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation on May 15, 2018.[5] He was confirmed for a five-year term by the United States Senate on April 30, 2019 by a vote of 72–27.[6][7] He was sworn in as Director on May 15, 2019.[8]

When Hartogensis took the helm of the PBGC in 2019, the agency’s multiemployer insurance program was projected to be insolvent by 2025 and had a financial deficit of over 65 billion dollars.[9][10] He worked with both parties in Congress to try to find a bipartisan solution to the crisis,[11] and he testified before the Senate Finance Committee in December 2019.[12] The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, provided $86 billion to address the multiemployer pension crisis.[13] The law created Special Financial Assistance (SFA), a rescue program for financially troubled multiemployer pension plans. The SFA program was implemented by the PBGC under Hartogensis' leadership.[14][15][16] PBGC's 2021 annual report reflected the impact of SFA, and the agency reported positive financial positions in both its single-employer and multiemployer insurance programs for the first time in over 20 years.[17][18] As a result, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) removed PBGC from its High-Risk List for the first time since 2003.[19]

On July 13, 2022, the Partnership for Public Service rated PBGC number one in "2021 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" among small agencies. Hartogensis accepted the award on behalf of PBGC.[20]

In 2023, Hartogensis supervised the agency's move to a new headquarters in the Portals II office building near The Wharf (Washington, D.C.).[21]

Personal life

Hartogensis is married to Grace Chao, the sister of Elaine Chao, the Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush and the Secretary of Transportation under Donald Trump.[22]

Hartogensis is the brother-in-law of Mitch McConnell, the sitting Senate Minority Leader.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Director". Pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  2. ^ Katz, Michael (2019-05-03). "Senate Confirms Gordon Hartogensis as Director of PBGC". Ai-cio.com. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  3. ^ "Company News; Aspen Acquires Another Petroleum Software Company". New York Times. 2 June 2000.
  4. ^ "SEC Filing". aspentech.com.
  5. ^ "Trump nominates Mitch McConnell in-law Gordon Hartogensis for job". Cnbc.com. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  6. ^ "On the Nomination PN150". govtrack.
  7. ^ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 116th Congress". U.S. Senate.
  8. ^ "Gordon Hartogensis Sworn in as PBGC Director". Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
  9. ^ "PBGC Projections: Multiemployer Program Remains in Dire Financial Condition | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". www.pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  10. ^ "PBGC Releases FY 2019 Annual Report | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". www.pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  11. ^ "PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis Issues Statement | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". www.pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  12. ^ Hartogensis, Gordon (2019-12-11). "Statement of PBGC Director Gordon Hartogensis Before the Senate Committee on Finance" (PDF).
  13. ^ Avenue, Next. "How The American Rescue Plan Act Will Help More Than A Million Retirees And Workers". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  14. ^ Kovaleski, Dave (2022-07-11). "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. issues final rule to help struggling pensions". Financial Regulation News. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  15. ^ "PBGC to Provide Special Financial Assistance to Troubled Multiemployer Plans | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". www.pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  16. ^ "PBGC Issues Final Rule on Special Financial Assistance | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". www.pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  17. ^ "PBGC Releases FY 2021 Annual Report | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". www.pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  18. ^ "Huge Turnaround Swings PBGC Multiemployer Program into the Black | Chief Investment Officer". www.ai-cio.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  19. ^ Office, U. S. Government Accountability (20 April 2023). "High-Risk Series: Efforts Made to Achieve Progress Need to Be Maintained and Expanded to Fully Address All Areas | U.S. GAO". www.gao.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  20. ^ "PBGC Rated Number One in "Best Places to Work" Among Small Federal Agencies | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". www.pbgc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  21. ^ "This agency tries to preserve pensions for millions of people". Washington Post. 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  22. ^ Hanna, Andrew (7 June 2018). "Elaine Chao Defends brother-in-law". Politico. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  23. ^ Mangan, Dan; Breuniger, Kevin (May 15, 2018). "Trump nominates brother-in-law of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and Transportation Secretary Chao to run pension agency". CNBC. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
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