The trustees for the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System on Thursday decided to interview a state department cabinet secretary, the system's chief investment officer, an investment manager in the state treasurer's office, and a city manager from Texas for the system's executive director job.
They are state Department of Transformation and Shared Services Secretary Amy Fecher; system chief investment officer Carlos Borromeo; treasurer's office senior investment manager Steve Pulley; and Fredericksburg, Texas, City Manager Kent Myers, who said he is leaving his current position to relocate to Little Rock this summer to be closer to family members.
The system received 21 applicants for the job. Trustee Larry Walther said nine met the minimum qualifications for the job.
Former system Executive Director Duncan Baird departed April 9 to begin work as senior manager of benefit services at Walmart, where he is responsible for administering Walmart’s 401 (k) plan. Baird, a former Republican state representative from Lowell and state budget director, served as the system’s executive director for three years. Allison Woods, who has been the system’s deputy director since November 2020, is serving as interim executive director.
The public employees retirement system is state government’s second-largest retirement system, with more than $11 billion in investments and more than 75,000 working and retired members.
In 2019, the system’s board of trustees hired Baird as executive director over actuary Jody Carreiro and Borromeo.
The salary range for the executive director’s job is $149,862 to $181,500, according to the job description. Baird’s salary was $165,396 a year when he departed the system.