The Minnesota Secure Choice Retirement Program board of directors conducted a nationwide search for a new, permanent executive director this fall to replace the current interim executive director, Dave Bergstrom. Chad Roberts made it to the final round of interviews and was offered the position by the board at the Sept. 24, 2025, board of directors meeting. He accepted the offer, and the leadership transition will begin Nov. 3, 2025.

The board and agency are very grateful for Bergstrom’s service during this period to establish the agency, enter Minnesota into the Partnership for a Dignified Retirement, finalize contracts with our service provider Vestwell, and garner support for the program at the state legislature and with the business community.

Roberts currently serves in the role of deputy executive director/chief retirement officer at the North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office (RIO). This state agency manages an investment of approximately $25 billion in client funds and administers the Teacher’s Fund for Retirement, a qualified defined-benefit pension program for public school educators with over 26,000 members and more than $3.7 billion in assets.

With over 25 years of government experience, Roberts has a proven track record in complex administrative and leadership roles. Before joining RIO in July 2022, Roberts served as the deputy county administrator and general government director of Wisconsin’s Polk County, and he had a distinguished career in law enforcement, serving as the agency head for two different law enforcement agencies.

An Alabama native, Roberts earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Master of Accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Collat School of Business. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Mary with research focused on organizational leadership and behavior.

As executive director, Roberts will immediately oversee the launch of the pilot program in December 2025, and the subsequent official program launch in 2026. His duties will include advocating for any necessary revisions in the agency and program’s enabling legislation, doing research and collaborating with other states to provide thorough recommendations to the board of directors, administering the program, being the agency’s figurehead, and promoting the program across the state in Minnesota communities.