The top two officers of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board of trustees were replaced at the beginning of the board’s quarterly meeting on July 24 in a contentious vote, with displaced Vice Chair Ellie Rubenstein announcing her resignation hours later.
The moves came after months of controversy involving allegations of improper financial actions by Rubenstein, sparking further accusations of politically motivated behavior among some board members.
Ethan Schutt was ousted as board chair and Rubenstein replaced as vice chair in a 4-2 vote at the meeting in Fairbanks. Schutt’s status has been in question since the April leak of an email by Rubenstein stating that Gov. Mike Dunleavy had told her he did not intend to reappoint Schutt when his term expired June 30.
The email by Rubenstein was part of a wider leak of documents alleging she was improperly arranging meetings between APFC staff and her own business associates, including her billionaire father David Rubenstein. That has resulted in investigations — into the source of the leak as well as the allegations — and calls for further scrutiny from some board members, APFC employees, legislators and members of the public.
Rubenstein was chair of a governance committee charged with drafting rules to govern interactions between staff and members of the six-member board, which manages the Permanent Fund’s $81 billion investment portfolio.
Dunleavy reappointed Schutt to the board last week, more than two weeks after his term expired, but his status as chairman was in question since the election of new officers was the first agenda item at the July 24 meeting.
Board member Craig Richards, who joined Schutt in casting the dissenting votes against naming new leaders, said the timing was unusual since such elections typically occur at the board’s annual meeting in the fall.
“Once again I find myself figuring out stuff at a meeting that’s already been pre-decided, so I oppose this pretty strongly,” Richards said.
Former state official Jason Brune was elected the new chair and state Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum was elected vice chair. Both were appointed to the corporation board by Dunleavy and are seen by APFC observers as part of a majority bloc on the board that is loyal to the governor.
Schutt remains a member of the APFC board.
Rubenstein, just before the leadership vote, said the election of new officers was properly noticed on the agenda and that she nominated Crum for the vice chair position because she is no longer interested in that role.
“You can do another election in September, but I think the staff especially has gone through a weird period and (we owe it to them) to have fresh leadership,” she said in response to objections by Richards.
Rubenstein, a private equity investment manager, publicly announced her resignation from the board July 24, effective Aug. 1.
“Ellie has concluded that the scope and pace of change necessary to fully institutionalize the Permanent Fund are not compatible with the demands of leading her private equity firm,” Christopher Ullman, a spokesperson for the board, told the Alaska Beacon.
Rubenstein is two years into a four-year term on the board.
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