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The Eddy Awards were created to identify and reward the best practices in providing investment education to defined contribution plan participants. |
Please join us in congratulating all of our 2010 winners. |
Plan Sponsor winners |
Initial Education |
Corporate |
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First Place: Mustang Engineering
It's funny how little things can make a difference. While judges appreciated Mustang's consistently used âjourneyâ theme, what they liked best was the liberal white space â much more than in a typical brochure. That white space helped make the materials easy to read and digest. Another plus: excellent charts and tables.
Service provider: The Hartford |
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Second Place: CTG Inc.
CTG, an information technology firm, used a number of themes and devices to tie the materials together and to the plan sponsor. The âhomeâ theme, for example, featured the home button on a computer; the tagline was âGet connected, stay connected.â Judges especially liked the portfolio-like folders that held the materials.
Service provider: The Hartford |
Special Projects |
Corporate: More than 5,000 employees |
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First Place: MGM Mirage
This âgo greenâ theme featured terrific giveaways such as a recycled tote bag awarded to employees who enrolled or increased their contribution, and a packet of seeds. Everything was customized and fit into a broader corporate âgreenâ campaign. The topic was extremely relevant, the message was very simple and the project itself was wonderfully creative.
Service provider: The Hartford, PartnerComm |
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Second Place: Parsons Corp.
What makes this a winner is comments like this from one judge: âIf it came in my mail, I'd open it and read it. â The theme, âWhere will retirement take you?â was consistently and cleverly carried out through travel-related graphics, such as a suitcase and a map. A real luggage tag was enclosed in the packet.
Service provider: Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust |
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Third Place: Ingram Industries Inc.
Using the theme, âDo something good for your retirement savings today,â Ingram showed the company was still committed to helping employees save for retirement, despite the nation's economic crisis. Mailings were targeted by age, and featured easy tear-off enrollment cards. Those who attended 401(k) Day got a free notebook.
Service providers: New York Life Retirement Plan Services, Roycroft Design |
Corporate: 1,000 to 5,000 employees |
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First Place: Nintendo of America Inc.
A series of postcards featuring the biggest Nintendo âstarsâ â including Donkey Kong, Luigi, and Wario â was incredibly simple and creative. All were targeted, including one for participants who could take advantage of the age 50 catch-up contribution and another sent to coincide with company raises, urging employees to enroll or increase their deferrals.
Service provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
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Second Place: Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA
Excellent branding was the hallmark of Kawasaki's campaign to get participants to increase their deferrals. The photos of people riding motorcycles and jet skis manufactured by the company were bold and beautiful. One unusual feature: a postcard with a detachable magnet directing employees to the plan's website.
Service provider: The Principal Financial Group |
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Third Place: National Dairy LLC
âFind out what all the cow-motion is about,â said one in a series of five monthly postcards and matching posters designed to increase participation rates at 12 locations. Judges especially liked National Dairy's emphasis on encouraging young employees to begin saving now for retirement.
Service provider: The Hartford |
Public |
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First Place: County of Ventura
âPlan your happily ever afterâ used multiple mailings and postcards with such fairy tale characters as the big bad wolf of inflation and Sleeping Beauty with the introduction: Even if you don't prick your finger on a spindle and fall asleep for 100 years, you might fall asleep on your investments.â Everything was branded for Ventura, with no provider mentioned.
Service provider: Fidelity Investments |
Ongoing education |
Corporate: Less than 1,000 employees |
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First Place: Bailey Nurseries Inc.
When Bailey decided to provide ongoing investment education to participants between ages 50 and 64, it launched its ânearing retirementâ program. Not surprisingly (since Bailey is a plant nursery), the graphics were beautiful. The materials, offered in both English and Spanish, were easy to read and digest.
Service provider: The Principal Financial Group |
Corporate: 1,000 to 5,000 employees |
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First Place: Plexus Corp.
This was a classic ongoing education campaign spread over six months through posters, postcards, e-newsletters and table tents. Using a physical fitness theme with good photos, the materials themselves gave âfiscal training tipsâ on such topics as increasing contributions, making best use of the company match, increasing employee deferrals and handling a down market.
Service provider: The Hartford |
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Second Place: Contran Corp.
Contran's desire to stress the importance of diversification featured mailers to participants invested only in the stable value/money market fund and those invested in fewer than three mutual funds. The graphics were excellent â the classic âdon't put all of eggs in one basketâ message â and the messages clear and simple.
Service provider: Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust |
Corporate: More than 5,000 employees |
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First Place: Ashley Furniture Industries Inc.
This ongoing education campaign had a catchy theme â stick.to.it â and clever, clean and clear graphics. Each piece was short and to the point. One explained how the employer contribution works; another discussed automatic rebalancing and deferral increases; a third provided basic investment education on asset allocation and asset classes. All were English and Spanish.
Service provider: Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust |
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Second Place: The Talbots Inc.
This entry was well- tailored to the company's line of business â women's clothes. Talbots had two goals: to increased participation rates at Talbots and J.Jill; and to increase deferrals. some 5.4% of Talbots' employees joined, and 4% of J.Jill's joined. New deferral rates averaged 7.4% and 6.6%, respectively.
Service provider: Wachovia, a Wells Fargo company |
Public |
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First Place: State of New Jersey, Department of the Treasury
Judges liked this entry because it used photos of New Jersey landmarks and a catchy sunburst discount sign (commonly found in retail ads) that referred to pre-tax contributions and said: âTake advantage of 25% off retirement savings.â The purpose of the campaign was to increase deferral rates, and the results were impressive: Some 38.5% of participants upped their deferrals.
Service provider: Prudential Retirement |
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Second Place: County of Los Angeles Defined Contribution Program
Newsletters have been a tried and true way to provide ongoing investment education, and Los Angeles' were a cut above the rest. They were very customized, colorful and graphically appealing, and presented good information on such topics as target-date funds, contributions and investment advice.
Service provider: Great-West Retirement Services |
Not-for-profit |
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First Place: Trinity Health
Trinity Health's ongoing education materials wisely used the cute and easily identifiable âStickyâ character and âStick with the Planâ theme the health-care provider has used in other campaigns. Trinity's flyer on its asset allocation service and newsletter explaining fund changes were graphically appealing and easy to read.
Service provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
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Second Place: The Metropolitan Opera
Gorgeous pictures of the Met's soaring architecture graced the front and back of the education materials. The campaign addressed multiple topics, such as fund enhancements, the importance of continuing to save during an economic downturn and the need to follow loan repayment schedules.
Service provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
Conversions |
Corporate |
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First Place: Veolia Transportation Inc.
This was a visually appealing entry whose theme matched the business of transportation by using photos of Veolia buses and trains on posters and brochure covers. The use of color was excellent, even though it was a four-color process, rather than the more expensive full-color alternative. The brochure was unusually well organized with the smart use of tabs.
Service provider: New York Life Retirement Plan Services |
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Second Place (tie): Community Health Systems Inc.
CHS did what other entrants didn't: used a separate brochure to list actions that needed to be taken during the conversion, rather than burying that information. The pictures of health-care professionals helped brand the materials, which clearly had been well thought out. The quizzes were another plus.
Service provider: The Principal Financial Group |
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Second Place (tie): Staples Inc.
Anyone familiar with Staples knew about the easy button, and the company made good use of its corporate branding. Judges especially liked the employee photos and a flip chart table tent. The information in the brochures was easy to read, helped by a larger type font than is typically used.
Service providers: New York Life Retirement Plan Services, Marcia Felix Design |
Union |
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First Place: Electrical Contractors' Association and IBEW Local 134
Great photos of Chicago at night â lights blazing everywhere â were the perfect images for electrical workers. The materials were well put together, with a good mix of types of materials, ranging from postcards to booklets to a wallet card. The identification with the plan and its participants, rather than with the service provider, was top notch.
Service provider: Mercer |
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Second Place: Teamsters-UPS
Identification with the plan and consistency were what made this entry a winner. All materials featured silhouettes of employees at work and the same design and colors. Each also contained a different âfinancial safety tip,â modeled after the UPS safety tips employees were used to seeing in other communications.
Service provider: Prudential Retirement |
Communicating in a crisis |
Corporate |
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First Place: Southwest Gas Corp.
A series of five letters from the CEO, sent over 10 days, addressed employees' fears about the economic crisis. One was on the 401(k) plan. The message was simple and clear: âThe key is not to panic or make any rash decisions.â Another words, stay the course. Judges said they wished more companies had done what Southwest Gas did. |
Public |
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First Place: California State Teachers' Retirement System
âYour Money Mattersâ newsletters, targeted for people over 40 participating in CalSTRS' Pension2 plan, contained short snippets that grabbed your interest. One issue explained the mortgage crisis. Another publication, âRetired Educator,â talked about investing in a troubled market, and assured participants their investments were OK.
Service provider: TIAA-CREF |
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Second Place: State of New Jersey, Department of the Treasury
The title of New Jersey's easy-to-read brochure, âStay the course,â says it all. The goal was to calm participants' fears as they watched the markets â and their account balances â drop. New Jersey officials measured their participants' behavior against a Mercer survey and found, for example, that far fewer participants moved to stable value than in the survey.
Service provider: Prudential Retirement |
Not-for-profit |
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First Place: LifeBridge Health
LifeBridge used a series of messages to educate participants during the first quarter of 2009. One piece said: âStop worrying about what you can't control and take some positive action (toward) greater financial security and a comfortable retirement.â Another discussed diversification, dollar-cost averaging, the danger of inertia and other investment concepts.
Service provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
Training and Advocacy |
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First Place: Omni Hotels
Creative, bold and eye-popping describe Omni Hotels' winning entry that used the theme, âHow Much?â and featured a series of questions. Everything connected to the training materials for the EZ Enroll Program was in pink and black. Trainers got some fun giveaways (in the same colors, of course) such as a spiral notebook and buttons. The hotel chain used colorful Popsicles as its graphic element.
Service provider: Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust |
Other media |
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First Place: M.A. Mortenson Co.
Cabin Fever, an interactive, participatory CD-based game for new hires, was a blast. It emphasized important points - such as the company match and other financial and investment information - in a painless way. The goal of the game was to build a retirement home, a perfect fit for this construction company. Judges remarked they played the entire game, which they didn't expect.
Service provider: goBig Communications |
Service provider winners |
Initial education |
Corporate |
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First Place: ING, Institutional Plan Services
The fee disclosure flyer in ING's materials for Nestle was the best judges saw among all entries in all categories. The investment and enrollment information was comprehensive, yet in an easy-to-read format. Another indicator of success of the redesigned program: The cost to print and mail each kit was dramatically reduced.
Client: Nestle USA Inc. |
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Second Place: The Hartford
It's funny how little things can make a difference. While judges appreciated Hartford's consistent use of the âjourneyâ theme, what they liked best was the white space â much more than in a typical brochure. That white space helped make the materials easy to read and digest. Another plus: excellent charts and tables.
Client: Mustang Engineering |
Public |
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First Place: ING, Institutional Plan Services
Using pictures of South Carolina natural areas was a good idea, but using photos taken by state employees was a great idea. There was a ton of information in the booklet, yet ING managed to make it readable. One idea others might want to copy: a handy notes section for employees to use as they pour through the information.
Client: South Carolina deferred compensation program |
Special projects |
Corporate |
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First Place: The Hartford
This âgo greenâ theme featured terrific giveaways such as a recycled tote bag awarded to employees who enrolled or increased their contribution, and a packet of seeds. Everything was customized and fit into a broader corporate âgreenâ campaign. The topic was extremely relevant, the message was very simple and the project itself was wonderfully creative.
Client: MGM Mirage |
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Second Place: T. Rowe Price
No glitz, just a simple and terrifically executed concept by T. Rowe Price: Send cards to non-plan participants that said, âHappy one-year anniversary with M&T Bank. Now you can reap the rewards of savings with free money for your future.â Results were fabulous: 40% of non-participants enrolled.
Client: M&T Bank Corp. |
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Third Place: New York Life Retirement Plan Services
Using the theme, âDo something good for your retirement savings today,â New York Life helped Ingram show the company was still committed to helping employees save for retirement, despite the nation's economic crisis. Mailings, targeted by age, featured easy tear-off enrollment cards.
Client: Ingram Industries Inc. |
Generic |
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First Place: The Hartford
Judges lauded this entry for its warm color scheme, attractive layout and unusual theme. The Hartford used bold photos of bulls and matadors to illustrate the concept of getting ready for the return of the bull market. The materials also did a good job with charts and tables on subjects usually reserved for more sophisticated investors. |
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Second Place: The Hartford
âBeyond Investment Illusions: When it comes to your financial future, perception is everythingâ was powerful because it confronted myths head on. That's something investment education doesn't usually deal with. The graphics are delightful: Who can resist looking at cool illusions? The materials covered important topics such as market timing and risk in an easy-to-understand way. |
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Third Place: Diversified Investment Advisors
âThere's no such thing as a retirement genieâ¦a retirement bunnyâ¦a retirement fairyâ¦a retirement (frog) princeâ were separate components of Diversified's special project to draw attention to 401(k) Day. The posters and postcards were a delightfully funny and creative way to educate people that their savings won't magically appear. |
Ongoing education |
Corporate |
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First Place: T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe's work for Southeastern was all about tying the materials to employees' jobs so non-participants would read and take action. In newsletters, flyers and postcards, gorgeous photos, for example, depicted scenes truckers would see while driving and taglines like âget in the fast laneâ were used. Results were impressive: 4.2% of nonparticipants enrolled in the plan.
Client: Southeastern Freight Lines |
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Second Place: The Hartford
This was a classic ongoing education campaign spread over six months through posters, postcards, e-newsletters and table tents. Using a physical fitness theme with good photos, the materials themselves gave âfiscal training tipsâ on such topics as increasing contributions, making best use of the company match, increasing employee deferrals and handling a down market.
Client: Plexus Corp. |
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Third Place: Great-West Retirement Services
A calendar for employees was a big hit with judges because each month featured information about Watlow's 401(k) plan. They also liked the imagery not just on the calendar, but also on all investment education materials.
Client: Watlow Group |
Generic |
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First Place: Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Company
Stunning action photos of amateur sports helped make this entry a winner. The series of flyers, postcards and other materials discussed participation, asset allocation, increasing deferral rates and retirement planning. Under the theme, âpeak performance,â photos featured a mountain climbers, hikers, golfers, snowmobile riders skiers and runners. |
Conversions |
Corporate: More than 5,000 employees |
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First Place (tie): ING, Institutional Plan Services
Bank architecture photos and rich, but appropriate, tones and colors set the stage for this well-branded campaign. Judges especially like ING's use of segmenting, sending different information to different employee populations, and its âjust-intimeâ approach to determine when to disseminate the various materials.
Client: Bank of New York Mellon Corp. |
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First Place (tie): J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services
âFeed your dreamsâ was the tagline, building on the company's theme, âIngredients for Life.â J.P. Morgan did a great job tailoring the materials to the company and its participants. All were colorful with terrific photos and included a buffet of easy-to-understand tools. All materials contained the logo âAisle one, take charge of your tomorrow.â
Client: Safeway Cos. |
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Second Place: ING, Institutional Plan Services
Extending the corporate branding to Hanes' savings plan was smart. Plus, the entry used clothing-related devices, such as price tag-like graphics with the motto, âFor a retirement that fits.â One of those price tags made a great, but inexpensive giveaway â a magnet with plan access information.
Client: Hanesbrands Inc. |
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Third Place: T. Rowe Price
Lovely outdoor photography combined with strong identification with the plan sponsor made T. Rowe's work for Dow Corning a winner. A host of brochures, posters and postcards gave lots of information while reiterating the theme: âWealth matters. Plan well. Invest well. Live well.â
Client: Dow Corning |
Public |
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First Place: ING, Institutional Plan Services
Solid, well-presented information with good charts helped this entry stand out. The materials looked well thought out. Although there were several different pieces, they didn't seem overwhelming and each had a specific purpose, such as a transition booklet and a guide to using the plan's website and information line.
Client: Virginia Retirement System |
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Second Place: ING, Institutional Plan Services
Judges liked ING's work for Minnesota because the provider used employees in photos and designed the information in such a way that it was tied into who the participants are. The materials also did a good job of explaining the plan and its changes.
Client: Minnesota State Retirement System |
Communicating in a crisis |
Corporate |
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First Place: ING, Institutional Plan Services
When Nestle officials said, at the beginning of 2009, that they wanted to remind participants of the importance of taking a long-term perspective when times were tough, ING used muted colors and simple tips that judges found soothing and easy to grasp. The initial communications were followed by a successful campaign to increase deferral rates: 35% increased to the full match rate.
Client: Nestle USA Inc. |
Public |
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First Place: Great-West Retirement Services
Quarterly newsletters to participants in Massachusetts' SMART Plan featured articles on such topics as staying invested and rebalancing. Each had a front-page letter from the state treasurer referring to the economic crisis while reminding participants to stay focused on their goals and the basic principles of investing.
Client: Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
Generic |
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First Place: Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust
âQuestions Answeredâ cleverly used big, eye-catching question marks to tie all of the materials together. Wells Fargo chose the questions used in the monthly Q and A from those call center reps and retirement educators said were the most frequently asked by participants. Plus, the campaign targeted three age groups with separate mailings and posters. |
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Second Place: T. Rowe Price
A variety of messages, featuring excellent photos, included one that said: âHow to stay focused on saving for the future when bills go up and the stock market goes down.â The materials addressed participant concerns, but also reinforced many basic investment education concepts. |
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Third Place: Principal Financial Group
Principal began addressing the economic crisis in its participant statements dated Dec. 31, 2008, and continued into the next year with a series of articles available in statements, online and through direct mailings. Each piece was two to four pages, written clearly and laid out cleanly. |
Other media |
Corporate |
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First Place: Great-West Retirement Services
Great-West used state employees in a video explaining the benefits of Indiana's deferred compensation plan, the Hoosier S.T.A.R.T. plan. The result was an ondemand source of information with which employees could identify. The video touched on enrollment, deferral rates and investment topics like asset allocation and risk.
Client: State of Indiana |
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Second Place: ING, Institutional Plan Services
An e-postcard directing people to a website was a simple, but effective, way to get employees of a newly merged company to get the lowdown on the plan conversion. Judges liked the bite-sized pieces of information given, the full branding and the way the medium was used to reinforce print messages.
Client: Bank of New York Mellon Corp. |
Generic |
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First Place: J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services
Targeting its message generationally, J.P. Morgan's âThe Way Forwardâ micro site used conversations between regular people, including older friends having lunch in a restaurant, about investments and how to cope with financial turmoil. This was a welcome departure from the traditional talking heads presenting a tightly scripted monologue. |
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Second Place: Hewitt Associates
Hewitt provided online investment education through its personal finance center. The site featured conversations with a money management executive, an approach not found in the other entries. A ton of information was spread across different areas of the site, but all was given in manageable chunks. |
Judges |
Susan J. Duncan
Vice President
ICI Education Foundation
Shirley Eng
Director, Defined Contribution Plans
Time Warner Inc.
Jaime Erickson
Manager, Defined Contribution Plans
Akzo Nobel Inc.
Matthew Gnabasik
Managing Director
Blue Prairie Group LLC
Annette Grabow
Manager of Retirement Benefits
M.A. Mortenson Co.
Marla J. Kreindler
Partner
Winston & Strawn LLP
Keith Overly
Executive Director
Ohio Deferred Compensation
Darcy Schmidt
Manager, Retirement Plans Communication
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Julie Stapel
Partner
Winston & Strawn LLP
Sharleen Uddenberg-Adams
Senior Manager, Retirement Plans
Kraft Foods Inc.
Michelle DeMarco
Promotion Director
Pensions & Investments
Rob Kozlowski
Editorial Assistant/Researcher
Pensions & Investments
Connie Mullis
Director of Programming
Pensions & Investments
Nancy K. Webman
Editor
Pensions & Investments
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