Harry Conaway, a partner at consulting firm Mercer and head of its Washington Research Group, is taking the reins as CEO of the leading retirement think tank in Washington, the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
The EBRI made the announcement Thursday. Conaway will replace Dallas Salisbury.
Conaway is on the EBRI’s board and has also served as a member of the ERISA Advisory Council at the U.S. Labor Department.
He received his law degree from George Washington University Law School in 1980. He also holds a master’s degree in South Asian regional studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in intercultural studies from Trinity College.
Salisbury had served as the EBRI’s CEO since its founding in 1978. From Securities and Exchange Commission and Labor Department round tables to congressional hearings, Salisbury has been a frequent outside go-to expert on pension issues and other benefit topics for policymakers.
He has also shown how working for a non-profit can be personally extremely profitable. Ever since 2010, he has been paid more than $1 million annually.
Before coming to the institute, his retirement-related work included stints at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.