Denver Business Journal cites pandemic response, business strength

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Oct. 20, 2020 — Edmund F. Murphy III, Empower Retirement President and CEO -- who in 2020 led his company through an unprecedented global pandemic and a dramatic business expansion -- has been named to the 2020 list of “Most Admired CEOs’ in the Denver-metro area by the Denver Business Journal.

According to the Denver Business Journal, the 2020 Most Admired CEO program honors top-ranking executives who are guiding their companies through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and whose past success is evident in the enduring strength of the companies they lead.

This year the Denver Business Journal’s program highlighted the region’s top executives in their roles as innovators, standard-bearers, role models and exceptional leaders. The judges also considered the hallmarks of an exceptional and admired chief executive to be committed to financial success, quality, workplace wellness, diversity and philanthropy. See the DBJ announcement here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the country, Empower took action to support the needs of retirement savers. In a matter of days, the company quickly transitioned its entire workforce to a work-from-home model and was able to bolster its client outreach activities to serve clients dealing with both the economic fallout of the pandemic and the reaction of the equity and debt markets. Later in April the company waived loan and withdrawal fees on loans and hardship withdrawals.   

In addition, Empower took an aggressive public policy stance to seek support for retirement provisions in legislation that eventually became law. The company also amplified communications to clients, advisors and individuals through market commentary, research and operational and business continuity updates about the firm-wide response to the virus and resulting market and economic volatility.

Empower sustained its call center capacity and elevated the availability of one-on-one counseling sessions to meet the needs of retirement investors seeking advice.

Murphy took the reins of Empower Retirement when it was formed six years ago. The company was created by bringing together the retirement companies of Great-West Financial, Putnam Investments, and JP Morgan Retirement Plan Services. Since the formation, Empower has grown into the nation’s second largest retirement plan provider.¹  

This summer Empower announced $4.3 billion in strategic acquisitions in the 92 days from June 28 to Sept 28 and has increased the scale and scope of its business to accompany a much wider array of retirement plans and a broad new offer to serve a more complete array of financial needs for millions of retirement investors.

The recently completed acquisition of Personal Capital and announced plans to acquire the retirement business of MassMutual and Fifth Third Bank combine to form a more robust enterprise bolstered by new client commitments.²

This year the “Most Admired CEO” program also focused CEOs’ philanthropic efforts to support the nonprofit organizations and community agencies working to address the needs of the region during these difficult times.

In March, Empower announced $250,000 in donations to community organizations fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, through the company’s Associates Community Together (ACT) program, Empower doubled the financial donations of its associates to the charitable organizations they are supporting.

In 2016, Empower launched the ACT program  to support the volunteer and giving efforts of its associates. Central to the program is the idea that that employees choose which organizations they want to support and Empower backs them. Empower gives employees 16 hours a year of paid time to volunteer and the company matches employees’ financial contributions to nonprofit organizations, up to $5,000 annually. Since ACT’s inception, Empower and its employees have given more than $11 million to nonprofit organizations across the country, including more than 400 charitable organizations in Colorado.

A special Denver Business Journal print section with a photo and profile of each winner will appear in November.

About Empower Retirement

Headquartered in metro Denver, Empower Retirement administers $667 billion in assets² for more than 9.7 million retirement plan participants as of June 30, 2020. It is the nation’s second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper by total participants.¹ Empower serves all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement plan market: government 457 plans; small, midsize and large corporate 401(k) clients; non-profit 403 (b) entities; private-label recordkeeping clients; and IRA customers. Personal Capital, a subsidiary of Empower Retirement, is an industry-leading hybrid wealth manager that currently manages more than $13 billion in assets virtually delivered from offices across the U.S. For more information please visit empower-retirement.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Media Contacts:

Empower Retirement:

Stephen Gawlik, Stephen.Gawlik@empower-retirement.com, 617-417-4408

Monica Mendoza, Monica.Mendoza@empower-retirement.com, 719-373-2460

Learn More:

To learn more about how we’re empowering plan sponsors and their participants to be more engaged in their retirement plans than ever before, call us at 800-719-9914.