John Comerford

John is the President of The United States Retirement Corporation, a Seattle based international financial counseling, pension fiduciary and employee benefits practice. Previously, John served as President and CEO of several commercial banks and trust companies including the National Cooperative Bank and The Bank of Massachusetts. He also served as a Managing Director of Calvert Group, America’s first socially responsible mutual fund company and Farmers New World Life Insurance Company, a Zurich Financial Services subsidiary.

John serves as a member of the Washington Economic Development Finance Authority and recently completed six years of service as the Vice Chair of the Investment Advisory Board for the City of Seattle Public Employees Retirement System. Earlier in his career, John served as a Member of the University of Cambridge Council, the 800 year-old UK University’s governing body, and the University’s Executive Committee. John holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts and graduate degrees from Harvard University, the American College, the University of London and the University of Cambridge. At Harvard, John’s thesis examined the role of bank owned export trading companies in the U.S. export economy and his Cambridge research was focused on the behavioral aspects of decision making in international corporate pension provision. John and his wife Sheila have travelled to every part of the world and have participated in the International Visitors Program and many student exchange programs.