Kenneth A. Bertsch

Kenneth Bertsch is Director, Corporate Governance for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), a position he has held since 1999. With $275 billion in assets under management, TIAA-CREF is a leading financial services organization, a major institutional investor, and the world's largest private retirement system serving the education and research communities.

Responsibilities, accomplishments

As Director of Corporate Governance, Mr. Bertsch coordinates TIAA-CREF's Corporate Assessment Program, which is responsible for reviewing the governance structures and practices of portfolio companies, and for initiating discussions with selected companies as well as shareholder resolutions and related activities. Mr. Bertsch also works on corporate governance policy development and represents TIAA-CREF in public forums.

For more than 14 years, Mr. Bertsch worked in a variety of capacities for the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), including as Director of Corporate Governance and Director of Social Issues, producing research reports and directing studies on a wide range of issues. IRRC is an independent research group that provides impartial analysis to institutional investors, corporations, and others.

Education

Mr. Bertsch received a bachelor's degree from Williams College in 1978, and did graduate studies in political theory at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Currently, he is a doctor of law candidate at Fordham University School of Law.