Washington, D.C., April 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MissionSquare Retirement today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Chair Deanna J. Santana as Acting Chief Executive Officer & President following the departure of Lynne Ford, while the Board conducts a search for a new permanent CEO. Ford’s last day was yesterday. Current board member Bob Jones will succeed Santana as Board Chair during this period.
“For more than 50 years, MissionSquare Retirement has provided those who serve the public with the opportunity to retire with dignity and financial independence, and we remain singularly focused on this important mission,” said Santana. “Mission-Square Retirement is in a strong position, and with this leadership transition, we will bring a renewed focus to our plan participants and sponsors. I am honored to serve as Acting CEO, and with the entire Board, we are committed to delivering for our stakeholders.”
“The Board has full confidence in Deanna to lead the team in carrying out our mission of helping public service employees build retirement security,” said Jones. “The Board will work to ensure a higher level of transparency throughout the organization and bring substantive and meaningful support for the leadership and staff.”
With more than 28 years of public service experience, Santana served as the City Manager for the cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, City Administrator for the City of Oakland, and Deputy City Manager for the City of San Jose. She is distinguished as the only public service executive that has held high-ranking leadership executive roles in the Silicon Valley cities that comprise the Nation’s Largest Tech Hub (San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara), as ranked by Forbes. In addition to leading service delivery in each of these complex cities, Santana has served on the MissionSquare Retirement Board of Directors for eight years, including as Chair since January. Santana holds two Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley and an Master’s in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A Board Member of MissionSquare Retirement since 2016, Jones brings more than 15 years of experience as Chairman and CEO of Old National Bank to his new role as Chair of the Board of Directors. He is a former board member of Vectren and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Jones is also a Senior Advisor for Ethical Leadership at the Butler University Lacy School of Business.
Santana’s and Jones’s leadership will ensure that MissionSquare Retirement continues to faithfully carry out its 50+ year mission of helping public service employees build retirement security.
About MissionSquare Retirement
MissionSquare Retirement is dedicated to guiding those who serve our communities toward a secure and confident financial future. Founded in 1972, MissionSquare Retirement is a financial services company with more than $68B average assets under management and administration, 1.8 million participants, and approximately 9,300 plan sponsors.* The company has helped more than three million people working in public service retire confidently and is focused on delivering retirement plans, investment options, and personalized guidance exclusively to the public service sector.
For more information, visit www.missionsq.org or follow the company on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
*As of February 2023. Includes 457, 401, 403(b), Retirement Health Savings (RHS) plans, Employer Investment Program (EIP) plans, affiliated IRAs, and investment-only assets. Includes assets under administration and management by MissionSquare with its subsidiaries.
