DES MOINES - Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Gregory Samorajski, former Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Revenue, as the next CEO of the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS). Samorajski replaces retiring CEO Donna Mueller, who has served in that role since 2003. The appointment is effective May 1, 2020, and is subject to confirmation by the Iowa Senate.
“Protecting the retirement security of Iowa’s public employees, past and present, is a vitally important function of state government. I believe Greg Samorajski has exactly the kind of experience and temperament to do the job well,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Greg’s experience in institutional wealth management and in critical public sector pension roles will be so valuable to IPERS in the years ahead. I’m so grateful to Donna Mueller, who has ably led IPERS for 17 years and worked tirelessly on behalf of Iowa’s outstanding public employees.”
“Iowa has a strong legacy of effectively and responsibly managing its public pension system,” said Samorajski. “That is a public trust that cannot be taken lightly. It’s an honor for me to take the reins at IPERS, and I appreciate this opportunity to serve the people of Iowa in this way.”
Samorajski served as the Deputy Commissioner of the State of Alaska Department of Revenue from December 2018 through early March 2020 and is currently on assignment to the Department of Commerce to work on mitigating the economic impact of the Covid 19 virus. In his tenure as Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Samorajski managed the staff of the Alaska Retirement Management Board. He has lived in Alaska since 1997 where he worked first as a portfolio manager and Director of Investments for McKinley Capital. At McKinley he managed money for and provided service to large public pension plans and other institutional investors. Mr. Samorajski also served as Chief Financial Officer for the True North Federal Credit Union in Juneau, Alaska. Prior to transferring to Alaska, Samorajski served as Senior Economist and Manager of Financial Instruments at the Chicago Board of Trade, as an Investment Officer at the First National Bank of Chicago and on staff of the accounting firm of Deloitte Haskins & Sells. He has served on the faculties of the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Alaska Pacific University.
The IPERS trust fund is valued at $34 billion and serves more than 368,000 members. It pays out about $2.2 billion annually, $1.9 billion of which is paid in Iowa.