Rye resident Charles E. F. Millard cut the federal pension agency's deficit by $7.7 billion during the 2008 financial crisis while leading the corporation that insures retirement benefits for more than 40 million Americans.
Millard, who lives with his wife Gwen on Eldredge Court, has built a career spanning city politics, economic development and federal pension oversight.
A MyRye.com profile published Monday, Sept. 7, traced that career as part of the site's "People of Note" series. The Millards have raised nine children in Rye and attend Church of the Resurrection.
Manhattan politics to Times Square
Millard took office on the New York City Council in 1992, representing the Upper East Side's 5th District.
He was the first Republican elected to a Manhattan Council seat in 25 years, according to his Wikipedia entry. He won a second term before leaving office in 1995.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani then appointed him president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
From 1995 to 1999, Millard oversaw the redevelopment of 42nd Street and Times Square, earning the nickname "godfather of Silicon Alley" for championing the city's early tech sector.
He also led negotiations to keep major employers, including Merrill Lynch and AIG, headquartered in New York City, according to his professional biography.
Cutting the pension deficit
President George W. Bush appointed Millard to lead the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in 2007. The PBGC insures private-sector pensions for more than 40 million Americans and manages more than $50 billion in assets.
Millard was the first PBGC director confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
During his tenure, the agency's deficit fell from $18.9 billion to $11.2 billion. He pursued two strategies: taking aggressive positions in bankruptcy cases, including the Delphi case involving General Motors, and diversifying the agency's investment portfolio.
In February 2008, the PBGC's board adopted Millard's proposed investment policy. New leadership froze that policy in 2009.
Ron Gebhardtsbauer, a former PBGC actuary and head of Penn State's Actuarial Science Program, told Pensions & Investments in June 2010 that if the agency had followed Millard's approach, "it could have $10 billion more in assets."
Still writing on retirement
After leaving the PBGC in 2009, Millard spent five years as a managing director at Citigroup, overseeing global pension relationships. He taught at the Yale School of Management during that stretch.
In March 2016, he led publication of "The Coming Pensions Crisis," a report flagging $78 trillion in unfunded retirement obligations across 20 countries.
He now runs Cardinal Advisors and serves on the boards of the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives and The Journal of Retirement. He wrote in a 2026 Wall Street Journal op-ed, "Before things get unduly politicized, let's focus on the goal: better retirement security."
A College of the Holy Cross graduate and Columbia Law School alumnus, Millard is a fourth-generation Irish American with family roots in Cork and Clare.
