SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 31, 2005 — The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) announces the election of Thomas C. Sutton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Life Insurance Company, as Chairman of its Board of Directors.
“We are tremendously fortunate to have a leader with such extensive managerial and financial expertise at a time when the governance function has become such an important part of the responsibilities of the modern-day nonprofit board,” says David Lyon, PPIC’s President and CEO. “Likewise, Tom’s civic contributions are a testament to his deep commitment to the state of California.”
Sutton’s understanding of PPIC’s mission and goals was key to his appointment as the institute’s board chairman. “PPIC is a vital voice in California conducting research and creating dialogue about the major public policy issues facing our state. Their research is fact-based, high quality, thoughtful, and free from partisan spin. I am proud to have a role in this endeavor,” he says.
Sutton joined Pacific Life in 1965 and was elected President and a member of the company’s Board of Directors in 1987. Three years later, in 1990, he became Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He has served alternately as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies since 1988. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Life Insurers – the nation’s principal life insurance company trade association, headquartered in Washington D.C. – and served as its Chairman from 1996 to 1997. He has also served as Chairman of the Health Insurance Association of America, the nation’s principal health insurance trade association.
Sutton is involved with many corporate, nonprofit, and charitable boards, including the California Chamber of Commerce, The Irvine Company, Edison International, and the California Institute for Federal Policy Research. He received a B.S. in mathematics and physics from the University of Toronto and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.
Other members of PPIC’s Board of Directors are: Edward K. Hamilton, Chairman, Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler, Inc.; Gary K. Hart, Founder, Institute for Education Reform, California State University, Sacramento; Walter B. Hewlett, Director, Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities; David W. Lyon, President and CEO, PPIC; Cheryl White Mason, Vice-President, Litigation, Hospital Corporation of America; Arjay Miller, Dean Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University; Ki Suh Park, Design and Managing Partner, Gruen Associates; Constance L. Rice, Co-Director, The Advancement Project; Raymond L. Watson, Vice Chairman of the Board Emeritus, The Irvine Company; and Carol Whiteside, President, Great Valley Center.
The Public Policy Institute of California is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research on major economic, social, and political issues. The institute was established in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett.