John H. Biggs (born July 19, 1936) is a former director of
The Boeing Company from their 1997 merger with
McDonnell Douglas until May 2011,
and the
National Bureau of Economic Research as well as a trustee of
Washington University in St. Louis. He was previously chairman and
chief executive officer of financial services company
TIAA-CREF
The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA, formerly TIAA-CREF), is a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, ...
from January 1993 until November 2002.
Education
A native of
St. Louis, an alumnus of
Thomas Jefferson School,
Biggs earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in classics from
Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in economics from
Washington University in St. Louis.
Career
Biggs began his professional career with the
General American Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produc ...
in 1958. He served in various
actuarial management positions, and in 1970 was appointed vice president and controller. In 1977, Mr. Biggs became vice chancellor for Administration and Finance at
Washington University in St. Louis. He was named president and CEO of Centerre Trust Company, St. Louis, in 1985.
From 1989 to 1993 he served as president and
chief operating officer for TIAA-CREF, and became CEO in January 1993.
Biggs is currently a director of the Boeing Company
and
JPMorgan Chase, chairman of the
J. Paul Getty Trust
The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution, with an estimated endowment of US$7.7 billion in 2020. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations—the Getty Center in the ...
, and a
trustee of Washington University, The
Danforth Foundation in St. Louis, and the
Santa Fe Opera. He is a director and former chairman of the
United Way of New York City and the
National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
. He is treasurer of the New York City Investment Fund. He is a fellow of the
Society of Actuaries
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is a global professional organization for actuaries. It was founded in 1949 as the merger of two major actuarial organizations in the United States: the Actuarial Society of America and the American Institute of Act ...
. He was chairman of the trustees of the
Getty Trust
The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution, with an estimated endowment of US$7.7 billion in 2020. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations—the Getty Center in the B ...
and is Executive-in-Residence at NYU-
Stern School of Business
The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly referred to as NYU Stern, The Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. I ...
.
Biggs has published a number of papers on corporate governance, variable annuities, Social Security, regulation and taxation of pension plans, and demographic effects on pensions.
References
External links
PBS interviewForbes profile
1936 births
Living people
Harvard College alumni
Washington University in St. Louis alumni
American corporate directors
Boeing people
American chief executives of financial services companies
20th-century American businesspeople
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