Family Details/ Town of Bethel History:
I moved to Bethel 39 years ago with my husband, Jean-Pierre Jordan, and our then six-month-old son Alec. Nico and Rachel were both born here soon after. And now, to our surprise and delight, all three of our adult offspring have come back to live in Bethel.
Education:
- Sarah Lawrence College B.A in literature and psychology
- Temple University, graduate studies in economics, statistics, portfolio theory
- Harvard Business School, Wharton, Princeton University: investment management executive workshops
- Harvard Business School, Duke University: corporate board workshops
Recent Work History, Description and Titles:
Myra is a frequent speaker and advisor on board governance issues. She serves on the State of Connecticut Investment Advisory Council (advising the State Treasurer on Connecticut’s $46 billion pension fund), the investment committees of the Kresge Foundation and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundations, and as an advisory member of the Boeing Company Employee Benefits Investment Committee (overseeing the largest US corporate retirement plan at $118 billion). She also serves as lead director on the board of Girls Who Invest, a non-profit dedicated to increasing the number of women executive
leaders and portfolio managers in the asset management industry. Myra previously served as an independent director of Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo &
Co (GMO), a privately held global investment management firm, and as a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the organization that oversees the Financial and Governmental Accounting Standards Boards (FASB and GASB). She was formerly managing director of General Motors Asset Management and chief investment officer of General Motors Trust Bank. Before that, she was chief investment officer of Xerox Corporation, and led pension investments for International Paper Company.
Town of Bethel and Community Activities:
Between raising three children, commuting to distant jobs, and serving on a variety of boards for many years, I never had the time to get involved in the community. At last I do.
Leadership Positions and Governmental positions held, if any:
Myra is past chair of the New York Stock Exchange Pension Managers Advisory Committee, past chair of the board of Commonfund (a non-profit asset manager serving other non-profits), and past vice chair and current honorary trustee of the board of Sarah Lawrence College. She is also past chair of the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets, an industry group of corporate pension investment executives overseeing $1 trillion in plan assets. She has served on numerous boards and investment committees over the years.
Other Information/Interests:
Myra is a recipient of the Institutional Investor Magazine Investor Lifetime Achievement Award and has been named to the ai-cio.com Chief Investment Officer Power 100 Hall of Fame. She was ranked as one of the best pension officers in America by Institutional Investor Magazine and Pensions and Investments and was cited by Money Magazine as one of the “Fifty Smartest Women in the Money Business.”
She is an avid grandmother to her two-year-old grandson (also a Bethel resident).
Why you are running for the position sought…What has drawn you to local politics? Why you are a good candidate?
I was motivated to run by the example of my son Nico Jordan, who has ably and attentively served Bethel as a member of the Inland Wetlands Commission for the past several years. His commitment to the community has been inspirational to me. I plan to use my extensive business and governance experience to help our town. That experience has taught me how to work constructively with board colleagues to achieve positive results.
What do you hope to accomplish in this position (i.e., what are your top goals)?
As an alternate to the Zoning Board of appeals, my top goal will be to attend meetings regularly so that I am able to serve in a well-informed manner should I be called upon. I am passionate about maintaining the character of Bethel.
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
My first job out of college, and the one that has helped me most in my subsequent career, was teaching nursery school in a Head Start program in New Haven. That was where I learned my most important skill: how to explain complex concepts in simple terms to people with limited attention spans who might be prone to temper tantrums.