Bob joined Cowden in 2011. He is a senior consultant and actuary in Cowden’s actuarial practice with 40-plus years of retirement consulting experience. Bob has maintained long-term relationships as a retirement consultant with many Pittsburgh-area organizations, including sponsors of ERISA-covered plans, church plans, and governmental plans. His expertise spans a wide range of actuarial areas, such as pension funding and accounting valuations, including FASB and the latest GASB standards, forecasts, union negotiation cost studies and consulting assistance, actuarial experience studies, and plan design analysis. He assists clients with plan terminations, merger and acquisition due diligence work, and individual and mass benefit certifications. One of Bob’s many attributes is his attention to detail, enabling him to educate plan administrators and assisting with plan interpretation.
Bob has a strong reputation for his ability to provide testimony for labor contract fact-finding and arbitration hearings. He has actively participated in nine successful labor negotiations for a major Pittsburgh public sector entity and is looking forward to the next round.
According to Bob, there is a strong connection between mathematics and music. In his spare time, Bob plays the trumpet and piano with several community bands; he also has sung with barbershop quartets.
Bob is an Enrolled Actuary (EA), a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA), and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Case Western Reserve University.