Barb Marder to Lead Retirement, Health Research Group

Mercer veteran Barb Marder now leads the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a Washington-based research organization that helps to inform how U.S. policymakers and business leaders understand health insurance and retirement savings programs.

The board of the Employee Benefit Research Institute has named Marder to be the group’s new president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. She takes over from Lori Lucas, who joined EBRI as president and CEO in 2018 and retired at the end of 2022.

Marder begins her tenure at EBRI in the same year that the organization celebrates its 45th anniversary, according to a statement announcing her hiring.

As she looks to the future, Marder says she plans to grow EBRI’s influence, footprint and resources. In addition, Marder will look to enhance the usability of EBRI’s data and analytics, and to create new partnerships to extend EBRI’s public reach and government relations efforts.

Another focus, Marder says, will be combining research and data on health and wealth.