NEWS RELEASE 10/17/12
Former CFA President Jeffrey J. Diermeier Elected FAF Chairman; Ann Marie Petach Appointed to Board of Trustees
Norwalk, CT, October 17, 2012—Jeffrey J. Diermeier, former president and CEO of the CFA Institute, has been elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), the FAF announced today. The Foundation is the parent organization of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
Mr. Diermeier, who has served on the FAF Board since 2009, succeeds John J. Brennan, chairman emeritus of The Vanguard Group. Mr. Brennan was elected chairman of the FAF Board of Trustees in February 2009 and will continue to serve on the Board for the balance of his five-year term, through December 2013.
The FAF also announced the appointment of Ann Marie Petach, chief financial officer and senior managing director of Blackrock, Inc., to the Board of Trustees. Ms. Petach´s appointment fills a vacancy on the Trustees with a term that extends to December 2014; at that time, she will be eligible to be reappointed for an additional three years.
"Today´s announcements emphasize the importance of the investor perspective to the FAF and our standard-setting Boards," Mr. Brennan said. "Jeff Diermeier is a highly regarded investor who has successfully overseen the management of hundreds of billions of dollars in assets over many years and is especially well qualified to lead the FAF Board of Trustees."
He added, "Ann Marie Petach is CFO of one of the largest investment management companies in the world. Earlier in her career, as treasurer of Ford Motor Company, she was responsible for overseeing Ford´s global pension assets. We´re very pleased to welcome both Jeff and Ann Marie to these roles."
Mr. Diermeier, who will serve a three-year term, headed the CFA Institute until his retirement at the end of 2008. Previously, Mr. Diermeier was Global Chief Investment Officer at UBS Global Asset Management, overseeing the management of more than $400 billion in assets. He worked with UBS and its predecessors for almost 30 years in various positions, including head of asset allocation, head of the U.S. equity division, and deputy chief investment officer. He was a founding managing partner of the former Brinson Partners, Inc. Mr. Diermeier holds a BBA and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
"I´m honored to have been elected chairman of the FAF Board of Trustees," Mr. Diermeier said. "I´m firmly committed to maintaining the integrity and independence of our standard-setting Boards while working to ensure that the standard setting process remains fair, open, and transparent to all of our stakeholders."
"We at the FAF thank Jack Brennan for his four years of dedicated service as chairman," said FAF President and Chief Executive Officer Teresa S. Polley. "Under Jack´s leadership, the Trustees significantly expanded their outreach to our stakeholders and implemented major changes as part of their broadened oversight responsibilities–the Private Company Council, the Post-Implementation Review Process, and the academic study of the GASB mission, are just three examples.
"We have had the privilege of working closely with Jeff Diermeier during the past four years, and we´re very excited about continuing and expanding that relationship as Jeff assumes his new role as chairman," she added.
Ms. Polley said that Ms. Petach´s long experience as both a preparer of financial statements and an investor will bring important expertise to the Board of Trustees. Before joining Blackrock as managing director and head of business finance in 2007, Ms. Petach worked at Ford Motor Company for more than 20 years in positions of increasing responsibility. Her final position at Ford was treasurer and corporate vice president.
About the Financial Accounting Foundation
The FAF is responsible for the oversight, administration, and finances of both the Financial Accounting Standards Board and its counterpart for state and local government, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. The FAF also is responsible for selecting the members of both Boards and their respective Advisory Councils.
About the Financial Accounting Standards Board
Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.
About the Governmental Accounting Standards Board
The GASB is the independent, not-for-profit organization formed in 1984 that establishes and improves financial accounting and reporting standards for state and local governments. Its seven members are drawn from the Board´s diverse constituency, including preparers and auditors of government financial statements, users of those statements, and members of the academic community. More information about the GASB can be found at its website, www.gasb.org.