May 20, 2008
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PWG Private Sector Committee Selects New Leadership

Washington- The private sector Investors' Committee on Private Pools of Capital, established by the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, announced today the selection of Gary Bruebaker, Chief Investment Officer of the Washington State Investment Board, to serve as the Committee Chair. Russell Read, the current Chair, will step down from the Committee upon his resignation from the California Public Employees Retirement System on June 30.

"This Committee plays an important role in strengthening market discipline through improved investor practices. Gary's participation from inception, coupled with his broad experience as a public pension plan sponsor, will serve the committee well," said Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets Anthony Ryan. "I am also grateful to Russell Read for his contributions and leadership and wish him well with his new venture."

The PWG created the Investors' Committee and a separate Asset Managers' Committee in September 2007 to collaborate on issues surrounding the private pools of capital industry and to develop a set of best practices for their respective groups of stakeholders. The work of the two groups was based on the PWG's Principles and Guidelines Regarding Private Pools of Capital issued in February 2007, which sought to enhance investor protections and systemic risk safeguards. The best practices, released in April 2008, may be viewed at the committees' website, http://www.amaicmte.org.

Bruebaker has served the Washington State Investment Board since 2001, where he received the award for Public Plan Sponsor of the Year and was selected for the 2006 Award for Excellence in Investment Management by Institutional Investor. The board is one of the largest in the country and manages more than $81.9 billion in 38 separate funds. Among other investment responsibilities, the WSIB manages the financial future of more than 400,000 public servants through the management of defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans.

Sandra Urie of Cambridge Associates will continue to serve as the Committee Vice-Chair.