CalPERS Names Darryl Watson Member Services Division Chief; Fund Reorganizes Regional Office Oversight Under Leadership of Ron Kraft.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Kathie Vaughn, Assistant Executive Officer of the California Public Employees Retirement System's (CalPERS) Member and Benefits Services Branch, announced today the appointment of Darryl Watson as the retirement system's new Member Services Division Chief.

Vaughn also announced that the administration and oversight of CalPERS eight regional offices will be placed under the leadership of Ron Kraft, current Chief of CalPERS Customer Service Center, in an effort to ensure continuity of customer service.

"Darryl has demonstrated outstanding management skills in his career at CalPERS and has a strong technology background that will help us improve the quality of service to our members and resources to help them manage their retirement," said Vaughn. "CalPERS Member Services Division is in very capable hands."

Watson will be responsible for the overall administration of the Division and will spearhead CalPERS strategy and policy direction on a broad spectrum of retirement and member benefit issues. He will also oversee CalPERS Judges' Retirement System, Legislators' Retirement System, and Volunteer Firefighters' Length of Service Award System.

Watson previously served as a manager in the Health Care Cost and Utilization Program at the California Department of Corrections, where he was responsible for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the Statewide health care cost accounting system. He has also had management responsibilities in the areas of auditing and program evaluation, cash management, accounting, and municipal bond financing at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Watson was one of two Caltrans employees selected for the Department's excellence in management program.

Most recently, Watson has led the development of an enterprise-wide testing and quality assurance office for software engineering projects at CalPERS.

He replaces Vaughn who was appointed Assistant Executive Officer for the retirement system's Member and Benefit Services Branch in May 2004.

Kraft will assume management and oversight responsibilities for CalPERS eight regional offices that operate in Fresno, Glendale, Mountain View, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego and San Francisco, and will continue to manage the pension fund's Customer Call Center. Both the call center and regional offices serve as the initial point of contact for questions from active and retired employees.

"Ron is a seasoned CalPERS veteran who has the important skills to ensure that our members receive consistent, high quality service and information," said Vaughn.

Kraft joined CalPERS in 1986 and has held a number of management positions. He was made Chief of the pension fund's Fiscal Services Division in 1995 where he was responsible for CalPERS budget process and financial accounting systems. He was later recruited to direct the implementation of an integrated purchasing, accounting and asset management software platform, and has also worked on a customer service business process re-engineering project.

Watson and Kraft will begin their new jobs on September 13.

CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund, with assets totaling more than $166 billion. The System provides retirement and health benefits to more than 1.4 million State and local public employees and their families. For further information on CalPERS, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.