Annette Guarisco Fildes is the Counselor to the President & CEO and former CEO of The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC). ERIC is a national advocacy organization that exclusively represents large employers that provide health, retirement, paid leave, and other benefits to their nationwide workforces. With member companies that are leaders in every sector of the economy, ERIC advocates on the federal, state, and local levels for policies that promote flexibility and uniformity in the administration of their employee benefit plans.
Annette is a strategic public policy and political counselor with over 30 years of experience involving complex legislative and regulatory matters in the U.S. and abroad. Serving as counsel to Senate Majority Leaders Bob Dole and Trent Lott, Annette advised on key tax and benefits legislation. She began her legal career at the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel and later practiced law at the Dewey Ballantine law firm.
Annette’s corporate experience is extensive. As a member of the senior executive team at General Motors, she led federal legislative affairs and political and grassroots advocacy at the federal, state, and international levels, and advised the GM Board of Directors on global public policy. Annette was an executive with Honeywell International government affairs, and Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, at the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
Annette has a B.B.A. in Finance and a law degree from Hofstra University, as well as a Masters of Law in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. She authored “Employer’s Guide to Fringe Benefits” with Mary B. Hevener and numerous legal and policy articles. Annette speaks regularly on public policy and politics, and the challenges and opportunities facing companies attempting to provide health, retirement, and compensation benefits to workers and families across the country, amidst a maze of federal, state, and local rules and regulations.