A Conversation with CPG Leadership
Replay Past Webinars in This Series
October 31, 2023 (viewing time 00:58:33)
CPG Through the Numbers—Continuing the Conversation
November 14, 2022 (viewing time 00:59:59)
CPG Through the Numbers—Continuing the Conversation
January 12, 2022 (viewing time 01:26:29)
CPG Through the Numbers
November 4, 2021(viewing time 01:27:41)
Panelists
The Rev. Canon Arlette Benoit Joseph
Senior Vice President, Church Relations Officer
Church Pension Group
Arlette is responsible for representing the Church Pension Group (CPG) at events and conferences across The Episcopal Church. She works closely with CPG’s Chief Church Relations Officer in strengthening CPG’s ties with the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, the General Convention, and other groups and stakeholders around the Church. Before joining CPG in 2023, she served in the Diocese of Pennsylvania as the Canon for Transition Ministry. Before this, she served the Diocese of New York at Trinity Church Wall Street, the Diocese of Atlanta at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and the Absalom Jones Center in Atlanta. Prior to being ordained, she worked at UPS Mail Innovations as a Marketing Analyst. She graduated with honors from Claflin University with a BA in marketing. She holds an MDiv and a certificate in spiritual direction from the General Theological Seminary.
Patty Favreau
Chief Communications Officer
Church Pension Group
Ms. Favreau is Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer. She is responsible for CPG’s corporate communications, education strategies, event management, client outreach and marketing, and its Research & Data team. She also oversees the Recorder of Ordination functions assigned to CPF by the General Convention. Ms. Favreau joined CPG in 2008.
Prior to joining CPG, she served as president of Redscout, a brand strategy, consulting, and product development firm with clients ranging from not-for-profits to major international companies. Before that, she worked at New York Life, where she managed new market development, product positioning, and customer relationship management as Chief Marketing Officer of its U.S. Life & Annuity business.
She graduated with honors from Amherst College with a BA in English. She later graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law where she was a member of the Virginia Law Review.
Frank Armstrong
Chief Operating Officer
Church Pension Group
Mr. Armstrong is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction for the Church Pension Group's (CPG) three lines of business. Prior to this, he served as Senior Vice President, Benefits Policy, and Chief Actuary of CPG since 2011.
Before joining CPG, he served as a Managing Principal and Practice Leader for the Eastern Region for Hewitt Associates’ Health Management Practice, where he served as lead consultant to CPG. Prior to this, he was an actuarial consultant for Buck Consultants and an actuarial associate for US Life Insurance Company.
He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He holds a BA from Rutgers University.
Michael Hood
Chief Investment Officer
Church Pension Group
Michael Hood serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, and Managing Director of the Church Pension Group. He is responsible for overseeing the investment programs for The Church Pension Fund, The Church Insurance Companies, Church Life Insurance Corporation, and related entities. He joined CPG in 2023.
Mr. Hood is a highly accomplished investment professional with extensive expertise in economics, asset allocation, and portfolio strategy. He formerly served as Managing Director in JPMorgan Asset Management’s Multi-Asset Solutions division where he helped oversee diverse portfolios totaling $350 billion.
Prior to this, he was Chief Economist at Traxis Partners, where he analyzed economies and markets in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. He also held positions with Barclays Capital, where he served as economist and market strategist for Latin America and global emerging markets; JPMorgan and JPMorgan Chase, where he served as economist for Latin America; and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he served as an economist developing risk studies. Mr. Hood has been recognized as a top-ranked economist and has contributed to various publications.
He received an MPA in International Relations from Princeton University and a BA in Economics and Political Science from Carleton College where he graduated magna cum laude in Economics.
Canon Kathryn McCormick
Chair, The Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees
Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi (retired)
Canon Kathryn McCormick serves as the Chair of The Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees. She is the former Canon for Administration and Finance for the Diocese of Mississippi. She has worked with clergy and lay employees regarding pension, medical insurance, retirement, property and liability insurance, endowments, trusts, and other matters.
As a cradle Episcopalian, she has been active in the Church, both as a volunteer and diocesan staff with a good working knowledge of the Church. She has served as an officer on several interim bodies, as well as The Church Pension Fund legislative committee for five General Conventions, a former CREDO finance faculty member, and as President of Province IV.
She was re-elected to her second term on The Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees in 2018.
Ellen Taggart
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Church Pension Group
Ms. Taggart is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Treasurer. She is responsible for directing the corporate financial management of CPG, overseeing CPG’s enterprise-wide project management program, managing CPG’s corporate risk management process, and overseeing CPG’s information and technology support group.
She started at CPG as a consultant in 2003 and joined CPG in 2004 as Vice President, Shared Services, in the Finance Department.
Prior to assuming her current position, Ms. Taggart was Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Project Management. Before CPG, she served as a Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO at Dun & Bradstreet, where she worked for 17 years with businesses across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
She holds a BS from the University of Maryland.
Mary Kate Wold
Chief Executive Officer and President
Church Pension Group
Mary Kate Wold serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Church Pension Group (CPG), a $17 billion financial services enterprise that provides retirement, health, life insurance, property and casualty insurance, and other products and services to The Episcopal Church. She also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Church Pension Fund, CPG’s governing body.
She has served in a variety of leadership positions in the corporate, legal, and government sectors. Prior to joining CPG, she was a senior finance executive and principal corporate officer of Wyeth, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Before embarking on her corporate career, she was a partner and chaired the tax practice group of Shearman & Sterling, a leading global law firm. Earlier in her career, she served in the Office of Tax Policy of the United States Department of the Treasury.
Her board participation has included both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. She sits on the board of the Church Benefits Association, a national association of faith-based benefits organizations, and on the steering committee of the Church Alliance, a benefits policy and advocacy group. From 2016 until 2023 she served on the vestry of Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City and on its investment committee, which oversees the institution’s multi-billion-dollar real estate and securities portfolio. She also sits on the boards of Nucleus RadioPharma, The Jackson Laboratory, and Burke Neurological Institute. Her professional affiliations include membership in the Women’s Forum of New York and Women Corporate Directors.
Mary Kate spent her childhood in Bottineau, North Dakota, a small rural community on the Canadian border. She graduated from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, summa cum laude with a BA in English and Theater and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She later graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. She holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University.
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