Robert Pozen
Encyclopedia
Robert C. Pozen is an American financial executive with a strong interest in public policy. He is the former chairman of MFS Investment Management
, the oldest mutual fund company in the United States. He is also a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School
and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
.
. In 1968, he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard, which awarded him a Knox Traveling Fellowship.
In 1972, Pozen received a law degree from Yale Law School
, where he served on the editorial board of the Yale Law Journal
. He received a JSD from Yale in 1973 for his doctoral thesis on state enterprises in Africa. He is a member of the Massachusetts, New York and Washington D.C. bars.
He has been married for more than 30 years to Elizabeth Kelner Pozen, a psychotherapist and figurative painter. They live in Boston, Massachusetts, and have two adult children, Joanna and David.
from 1987 to 2001, eventually rising to vice chairman of the company and president of FMR Co., the investment adviser to Fidelity’s mutual funds. In the latter role, he had oversight of Fidelity’s global portfolio management and research teams; during his tenure as president, Fidelity’s assets under management increased from $500 billion to $900 billion. He also was a director of Fidelity’s insurance company and credit card bank.
Pozen became chairman of MFS Investment Management
in February 2004. In that position, he advised the firm on strategic initiatives and long-term planning. Speaking on corporate governance, he has been credited with enhancing the organization’s legal, audit, and risk functions. He retired as Chairman in July 2010 and is now Chairman Emeritus. He continues to serve as a member of the MFS mutual fund boards. In 2011, he was recognized for his work in the mutual fund industry with the Fund Action Lifetime Achievement Award.
(SEC) from 1977 to 1980.
In 2001 and 2002, he served as a member of President George W. Bush
's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. His proposal for utilizing a "progressive indexing" methodology to address Social Security’s long-term solvency issue received national attention, including a mention during President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address.
At the state level, Pozen served as Secretary of Economic Affairs in 2003 under then-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
. Pozen was responsible for all economic-related areas, including banking, consumer affairs, insurance, and labor.
In 2007, Pozen served as chairman of the SEC's Committee to Improve Financial Reporting. Working with both private and public sector experts, the committee made several actionable recommendations to improve the U.S. financial reporting system, many of which have been implemented.
MFS Investment Management
MFS Investment Management is an American-based global asset manager, formerly known as Massachusetts Financial Services. It is owned by Sun Life Financial of Canada, with subsidiary headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and offices worldwide. MFS was founded in 1924 and is one of the oldest asset...
, the oldest mutual fund company in the United States. He is also a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
.
Education and family
Pozen grew up in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he attended public high school and won a scholarship to attend Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. In 1968, he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard, which awarded him a Knox Traveling Fellowship.
In 1972, Pozen received a law degree from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, where he served on the editorial board of the Yale Law Journal
Yale Law Journal
The Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...
. He received a JSD from Yale in 1973 for his doctoral thesis on state enterprises in Africa. He is a member of the Massachusetts, New York and Washington D.C. bars.
He has been married for more than 30 years to Elizabeth Kelner Pozen, a psychotherapist and figurative painter. They live in Boston, Massachusetts, and have two adult children, Joanna and David.
Investment industry career
Pozen was an executive at Fidelity InvestmentsFidelity Investments
FMR LLC or Fidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors. Fidelity Ventures is its venture capital arm...
from 1987 to 2001, eventually rising to vice chairman of the company and president of FMR Co., the investment adviser to Fidelity’s mutual funds. In the latter role, he had oversight of Fidelity’s global portfolio management and research teams; during his tenure as president, Fidelity’s assets under management increased from $500 billion to $900 billion. He also was a director of Fidelity’s insurance company and credit card bank.
Pozen became chairman of MFS Investment Management
MFS Investment Management
MFS Investment Management is an American-based global asset manager, formerly known as Massachusetts Financial Services. It is owned by Sun Life Financial of Canada, with subsidiary headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and offices worldwide. MFS was founded in 1924 and is one of the oldest asset...
in February 2004. In that position, he advised the firm on strategic initiatives and long-term planning. Speaking on corporate governance, he has been credited with enhancing the organization’s legal, audit, and risk functions. He retired as Chairman in July 2010 and is now Chairman Emeritus. He continues to serve as a member of the MFS mutual fund boards. In 2011, he was recognized for his work in the mutual fund industry with the Fund Action Lifetime Achievement Award.
Teaching positions
- 1973-74: Visiting professor, Georgetown Law School
- 1974-76: Associate professor, New York University Law School
- 2002-03: John Olin Visiting Professor, Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
- 2006-07: Senior lecturer, MIT Sloan School of ManagementMIT Sloan School of ManagementThe MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
- 2007–present: Senior lecturer, Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
Public service
In addition to his private sector and teaching posts, Pozen has dedicated time during his career to public service. He was Associate General Counsel for the United States Securities and Exchange CommissionUnited States Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a federal agency which holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets in the United States...
(SEC) from 1977 to 1980.
In 2001 and 2002, he served as a member of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. His proposal for utilizing a "progressive indexing" methodology to address Social Security’s long-term solvency issue received national attention, including a mention during President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address.
At the state level, Pozen served as Secretary of Economic Affairs in 2003 under then-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
. Pozen was responsible for all economic-related areas, including banking, consumer affairs, insurance, and labor.
In 2007, Pozen served as chairman of the SEC's Committee to Improve Financial Reporting. Working with both private and public sector experts, the committee made several actionable recommendations to improve the U.S. financial reporting system, many of which have been implemented.
Boards/memberships
- Board member, MedtronicMedtronicMedtronic, Inc. , based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.- History :...
, Inc. - Board member, The Nielsen Company
- Former board member, Bell CanadaBell CanadaBell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
Enterprises - Trustee, Commonwealth FundCommonwealth FundThe Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, especially for society's most vulnerable.-History:...
(healthcare foundation) - Board member, Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center
- Former board member, National Basketball Hall of Fame
- Former vice chairman, Boston Public LibraryBoston Public LibraryThe Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
Foundation - Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Senior Fellow, Brookings InstitutionBrookings InstitutionThe Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
- Member, Council on Foreign Relations
Selected books
- The Fund Industry: How Your Money is Managed (with Theresa Hamacher, 2011, John Wiley)
- Too Big to Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System (2009, John Wiley)
- Financial Institutions: Investment Management (1997, West Publishing)
Selected financial articles
- Financial Times, "Short-selling bans are a mistake" (August 12, 2011)
- Science Translational Medicine, "Defining Success for Translational Research Organizations" (with Heather Kline, August 3, 2011)
- Huffington Post, "Social Security Reform Is the Key to the Debt Ceiling Debate" (July 19, 2011)
- Washington Post, "A debt plan Republicans can support" (July 19, 2011)
- Washington Post, "Wading into money-market funds?" (with Theresa Hamacher, July 6, 2011)
- Financial Times, "Don't hobble money market funds" (with Theresa Hamacher, June 19, 2011)
- Harvard Business Review, "Managing Yourself: Extreme Productivity" (May 2011)
- Financial Times, "European funds are outgunning US rivals" (with Theresa Hamacher, April 13, 2011)
- Washington Post, "A bond backfire after racing to buy long-term Treasuries and sell tax-exempt funds" (with Theresa Hamacher, April 5, 2011)
- Morningstar Advisor, "The Global Fund-Leadership Playoffs: Europe vs. the U.S." (with Theresa Hamacher, April/May 2011)
- Forbes, "Heretic Reality: Mortgage Interest Deduction Needs To Be Slashed" (March 25, 2011)
- Washington Post, "Why Liberals Should Back Social Security Reform" (March 22, 2011)
- Financial Times, "Japan can rebuild on new economic foundations" (March 21, 2011)
- Wall Street Journal, "A New Model for Corporate Boards" (December 30, 2010)
- Harvard Business Review, "The Case for Professional Boards" (December 2010)
- New York Times, "For Social Security, A Birthday Makeover" (August 22, 2010)
- Wall Street Journal, "Bashing Beijing Will Not Help Our Trade Deficit" (August 20, 2010)
- Wall Street Journal, "$100,000 is Plenty for Deposit Insurance" (June 23, 2010)
- Financial Times, "Chatter About a New Global Currency is Overblown," (July 29, 2009)
- Forbes, "Stop Pining for Glass-Steagall," (September/October 2009)
- Wall Street Journal, "Systemic Risk and the Fed," (July 9, 2009)
- Wall Street Journal, "How to Value Toxic Bank Assets," (February 3, 2009)
- Financial Times, "Foundations to be Laid Before Bridging Gap," (November 19, 2008)
- New York Times, "Think First, Bail Out Later," (June 15, 2008)
- New York Times, "Reporting for Duty," (March 3, 2007)
- Harvard Business Review, "If Private Equity Sized Up Your Business," (November 2007)
- Fortune, "China Goes from Red to Gray," (June 26, 2006)
- Harvard Business Review, "Before You Split that CEO Chair," (April 2006)
- Pensions & Investments, "Overstating Performance," (February 20, 2006)
- USA Today, "Why My Plan to Fix Social Security Will Work," (June 13, 2005)
- Foreign Affairs, "Mind the Gap," Vol. 84, No. 2, 8-12 (March/April 2005)
- The Economist, "The Route to Real Pension Reform," 69 (January 8, 2005)
- Harvard Business Review, "Arm Yourself for the Coming Battle Over Social Security," Vol. 80 at 52 (November 2002)
- Harvard Business Review, "Institutional Investors: The Reluctant Activists," Vol. 72 of 140 (January/February 1994)