School of Hard Knocks : The Evolution of Pension Investing at Eastman Kodak

The evolution of Eastman Kodak Company’s pension investment program from the inception of its pension plan in 1928 through 2004. The author, Russell L. (“Rusty”) Olson, a consultant on institutional investing, retired in 2000 as director of pension investments, worldwide, for Eastman Kodak Company. Olson had overseen Kodak’s pension funds since 1972. Over the 1980s and 1990s (and through 2004) Kodak’s pension fund was one of the best performing pension funds in the United States. Kodak made contributions to its pension fund in only two of the 22 years, 1983-2004, and it is one of the best-funded corporate pension plans in the country.