Steven Toole
The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has named Steven Toole as its new executive director, the STRS retirement board announced at its June 11 meeting. Toole’s appointment is effective July 14, and he will succeed Aaron Hood, who is currently serving as executive director in an interim capacity.
The pension fund’s previous executive director, Bill Neville, was placed on leave from STRS Ohio in November 2023 and was paid $1.65 million to leave his role in September 2024, following allegations of harassment against STRS staff.
Hood was named interim executive director in November 2024, following the resignation of Chief Financial Officer and then-Acting Executive Director Lynn Hoover.
STRS Ohio has seen significant staff turnover over the past two years, largely due to disputes over cost-of-living adjustments for pensioners and over investments. The board of STRS is split between two competing factions. “The reformers,” led by Board Chair Rudy Fichtenbaum, aimed to reinstate COLAs and move the fund’s assets to index investments, and they currently control a majority of board seats. A COLA was reinstated earlier this year.
Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. ?
“Steven Toole has exceptional experience, having successfully led one of the nation’s largest public pension systems,” said Fichtenbaum in a statement. “Mr. Toole has also held senior management positions in the private financial services sector. We are confident he will do an outstanding job continuing STRS Ohio’s mission of providing a financial foundation for Ohio’s more than 530,000 active, inactive and retired members.”
Toole is currently a senior product manager at Principal, according to a statement from STRS, and also worked at Prudential in recent years. He was previously president of financial wellness at Empower and served as the executive director of the North Carolina Retirement Systems between 2011 and 2019. He spent 24 years at Nationwide between 1986 and 2011.
Toole earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the Ohio State University.
STRS Ohio managed $96.9 billion in assets, as of June 30, 2024.
Related Stories:
Ohio STRS’ 1.5% COLA ‘Doesn’t Go Far Enough,’ Says Retirement Group
Aaron DiCenzo Named Interim CIO of STRS Ohio
STRS Ohio Names Interim Executive Director
Tags: State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, Steven Toole, STRS Ohio
#Steven #Toole #Named #Executive #Director #STRS #Ohio