There's a new chair at a mutual fund industry trade group, and a trio of new faces have also joined its board.

Kathleen T. Barr Independent Directors Council Chair of the Governing Council

Last week Thomas Kim, managing director of the Independent Directors Council (IDC), confirmed that IDC's governing council has elected its vice chair, Kathie Barr, as chair. Barr succeeds Dawn Vroegop, who now serves as chair emeritus after two years as chair.

The council also recently elected three new additions to its ranks: Michael Forrester of the TIAA-CREF Funds; Kym Hubbard of the Pimco Funds; and Patricia Louie of the Oakmark Funds. The council now includes 28 members, nine of whom are also on the board of governors of IDC's parent, the ICI.

Kim lauds Vroegop for her starring IDC "through an extraordinary time of transition." (Vroegop mentions that, thanks to the COVID-19 crisis this year, the IDC team altered how they "deliver resources to directors.") And Kim puts Barr's election in the context of IDC's "renewed mission of educating, engaging with, advocating on behalf of, and promoting public understanding of independent directors and they value they provide to shareholders."

Barr, an independent trustee for the Professionally Managed Portfolios Series Trust and the William Blair mutual fund board, previously worked with PNC Funds, Allegiant Funds, and Fifth Third. She is an alumna of the University of Pittsburgh.

Vroegop, board chair and independent director for the Brighthouse Funds, is also on the board of Causeway Capital Management. She previously served as lead independent director for the MetLife Funds, and is an alumna of the Wharton School and of the University of Michigan. 

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