$1 Million Committed to the Endowment
Newport Beach, Calif. – (July 16, 2007) – The Pacific Life Foundation announced today a major grant of $1 million to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) to permanently endow a chair to be known as: The Thomas C. Sutton Chair in Policy Research. The chair will be held by the senior research management employee of the PPIC.
Mr. Sutton retired as an employee of Pacific Life Insurance Company in June 2007, ending a 43-year career with the company. During his 17 years as chairman and CEO of Pacific Life, Mr. Sutton also served as chairman of the Pacific Life Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Pacific Life. During his tenure as chairman of the foundation, Pacific Life Insurance Company contributed approximately $58 million to the foundation’s trust principal. In addition, the foundation’s contributions to the community have increased from $700,000 in 1990 to $4.6 million in 2007, totaling over $41 million in contributions since 1990.
“Tom Sutton has set the bar for responsible corporate giving in the Pacific Life communities of interest. The Pacific Life Foundation’s gift honors Tom’s many years of community activism and foundation leadership,” said Robert G. Haskell, president of the Pacific Life Foundation. “This Chair honoring Tom Sutton will enable the PPIC to further their commitment to improve public policy decisions in California.”
Mr. Sutton has served on the board of the Public Policy Institute of California for the past five years and was named chairman of the PPIC board in 2005.
“We appreciate the generous gift by the Pacific Life Foundation in honor of the remarkable leadership of Tom Sutton in the private sector and for all of his contributions to the state,” said Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of PPIC. “The endowed chair will help us in meeting our institute’s mission and achieving our goal of becoming even more involved and influential in the important policy issues facing California.”
The Public Policy Institute of California is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to objective, nonpartisan research on economic, social, and political issues that affect the lives of Californians. The Institute was established in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett.
Founded in 1868, Pacific Life provides insurance products, annuities, and mutual funds, and offers a variety of investment products and services to individuals, businesses, and pension plans.1 Pacific Life counts more than half of the 50 largest U.S. companies as clients2 and is a member of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA), whose membership promotes high ethical standards for the sale of individual life insurance and annuities.
1 Product features and availability vary by state.
2 Data compiled by Pacific Life using the FORTUNE 500® list as of April 2007.