Anne F. Ackerley is a Senior Advisor to the Retirement business at BlackRock. She was previously the Head of BlackRock’s Retirement Group for nine years. In this role, Anne ran the defined contribution and retirement insurance businesses, overseeing the development and distribution of investment strategies and services to institutional clients, consultants and financial advisors – reaching over 80,000 plans, including over 60% of the Fortune 100, and ultimately reaching more than 40 million Americans. Under Anne’s leadership, BlackRock launched LifePath Paycheck, an innovative new lifetime income solution for defined contribution plans.
Previously, Anne was BlackRock's Chief Marketing Officer, where she was responsible for driving the firm's marketing strategy and building the BlackRock brand. She also served as the Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock's Global Client Group, developing and driving strategy across BlackRock's client businesses including the then newly acquired iShares business. From 2000 to 2009, Anne held various leadership roles in BlackRock's U.S. Retail Group. She served as the head of the Private Client Group, where she integrated both the State Street Research and Merrill Lynch Investment Management retail businesses. She served as the business liaison to the mutual fund Boards, and the President of BlackRock's open and closed-end mutual funds. Anne was also a co-founder of BlackRock's Women's Network (WIN) and the Financial Inclusion Team (FIT) Network. Before joining BlackRock, Anne spent 15 years at Merrill Lynch in investment banking.
Anne has written and spoken extensively on retirement readiness and women's leadership – and has won awards for her leadership in the industry and her work advancing gender equity. In 2024, she was named to Barron’s “100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance” for the fifth year in a row. Anne was also named to P&I’s inaugural list of “Influential Women in Institutional Investing.” In 2022, she made Forbes’ 50 over 50 list and Yahoo Finance’s list of “HERoes Women Role Model Executives” in 2019. In 2018, she was honored for her outstanding leadership in financial services with the Women's Bond Club Merit Award.
Anne currently sits on the Board of Trustees for Northwestern Mutual. She is a board observer for Human Interest and is on the Leadership Advisory for the Collaborative for Equitable Retirement Savings, the Aspen Institute Forum on Retirement Savings Advisory Council, and the World Economic Forum’s Longevity Economy Steering group. Outside the industry, she is a trustee of the Mosaic Mental Health Association.
Anne earned a BA degree, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in economics from Harvard College and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.
