George Holding: “I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Steven Kandarian…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Steven Kandarian on his retirement from MetLife after serving as chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer for the last 8 years. After Steve Kandarian earned his undergraduate degree from Clark University, his JD from Georgetown University, and his MBA from Harvard Business School, he began his career as an investment banker before founding and serving as managing partner of Orion Partners, a private equity firm based in Boston. Mr. Speaker, between 2001 and 2004, Mr. Kandarian was executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the PBGC. During his time at the PBGC, he made the case for comprehensive reform of the pension funding rules to put the defined benefit system and the PBGC on a sound financial footing. His efforts helped lay the groundwork for the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. In 2005, Kandarian joined MetLife as executive vice president and chief investment officer. And from 2007 to 2012, he led MetLife's enterprise-wide strategy. Under Mr. Kandarian's leadership during this time, MetLife identified the housing bubble early and reduced its exposure to the 2008 financial crisis. His efforts helped MetLife emerge from the credit crisis with the financial strength to complete the company's $16.4 billion purchase of Alico from AIG.…”