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SVIA Seeks Nominations for Six Open Seats on Board

SVIA's Board of Directors has six positions that will be open at the end of this year: two plan sponsor and four service firm positions. Voting members are asked and encouraged to submit nominations for the six positions.

Board of Directors' Responsibilities

Individuals who serve on the Board are asked to take an active leadership role in the Association for a three-year term. The Board meets quarterly each year. In addition to attending these quarterly meetings, Board members are called upon to participate in conference calls and meetings as needed to advance the Association's agenda. Board members are also called upon to chair Association committees and lead association initiatives.

Requirements for Board Candidates

To become a candidate for election to the Board, an individual must be:

• A member in good standing in the Association,
• Become the voting member for his/her firm if nominated and elected, if not already,
• Commit to taking an active leadership role in Association activities,
• For a service firm member, receive the greater of three nominations from SVIA voting members or 10% (rounded to the next higher value of the total number of voting members who make nominations.)

What exactly does that mean for service firm members? It means that getting the minimum of three nominations does not ensure that your nominee will be a candidate for the Board of Directors. Take the 2001 elections as an example, 54 voting members submitted nominations. That meant that nominees had to receive nominations from five individual voting members to become a candidate for the Board. That narrowed the field of service firm nominees from 47 to 12 for the five available service firm seats.

The three or 10% rule was instituted as a way to have the membership whittle down nominations to a manageable slate of candidates. The rule avoids primaries and the potential for a series of run-offs from an overly broad field.

Past Elections

Before 1999, just getting nominated was enough. However, in 1999, members' interest in a Board seat increased and produced a slate of 25 nominations, which translated into 23 candidates for three service firm seats. Interest from service firms continues to grow: 2000 produced 37 candidates and seven nominees for four seats, and 2001 produced 47 candidates and 11 nominees for five seats.

Plan sponsors are subject to all requirements but the three or 10% rule. They need only to be nominated by a voting member. This group appears to narrow down its own field. Last year, 13 sponsors were nominated and two ran. In 2000, 20 plan sponsors were nominated and five ran. In 1999, three individuals were nominated and all ran.

Thinking about a run or making nominations?

A table of SVIA's Board of Directors is provided to help you think about nominations. Also, SVIA members are listed in the on-line and 2002 bound directory. For those of you who are thinking about running for the Board, companies' voting members are listed in the company profile section of your bound directory.

SVIA Elected Board as of July 2002

Departures from the Board

Lastly, many thanks to Verizon's Ben D'Angelo and General Mills' Dave VanBenschoten for their service on the Board. Ben's responsibilities have taken him away from Stable Value, hence his resignation earlier this year. Increasing demands as Treasurer of General Mills have also caused Dave to resign from his Board seat. AT&T's Mark Devine will fill out the remainder of Dave's term.

Seeking Second Term

The majority of the 2002 slate are seeking a second term. DuPont's Karen Chong Wulff, PIMCO's Wendy Cupps and John Hancock's Wayne Gates are seeking a second term. Two of the service firm positions are new seats that will bring the Board's elected and voting membership up to 20.

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