DALLAS - One of Utah's top investment bankers, Kent Michie, has resigned his position as vice president at Zions Bank Public Finance to take a post in newly sworn Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s cabinet.
Michie, who had been a public finance banker for 28 years, has been appointed as the new commissioner of insurance. In that position, Michie will serve both as the director of the state's Department of Insurance and as the chief regulator for the insurance industry. In addition, he will take a role in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
"First you learn, then you earn, then you return," Michie said. "It's an ethic for me. I was raised in Utah, I've lived here all my life. I was educated in Utah public schools -- first in Salt Lake City, then at the University of Utah. I have been taken care of -- I've earned a good living, and I had a wonderful career. Now it's my turn to give back and return some of what I've been given. It's about public service."
Michie spent the past 16 years of his career at Zions Bank, where he was most recently a vice president and manager of public finance.
"I served as the financial adviser to the state of Utah for 20 straight years -- from 1984 through 2004," Michie said. "I also was financial adviser to a number of other prominent issuers including Salt Lake County, the Utah Transit Authority, and Utah State University, as well as a number of other smaller communities -- counties, cities, special districts, and the like."
He said that while he looks forward to the challenges of his new position in Huntsman's cabinet, he will miss his public finance clients and colleagues.
"I have had a wonderful career," Michie said. "I consider myself extremely fortunate to have served in this industry. In public finance, if you do it right, you can always take the high road -- you don't have to be dragged into the mud. You can make good choices. This is a high-grade business, and good service results in good things for the people you are working for."
He said he is very excited to go to work for Huntsman, a Republican businessman and former ambassador who won a tight race in November against Democratic opponent Scott Matheson, the dean of the University of Utah Law School and a former U.S. attorney.
"Gov. Huntsman is a fine person, very well-trained and well-groomed for this job," Michie said. "The campaign between Scott Matheson and Gov. Huntsman was extraordinary -- it was very clean. The debates between the two were very good, very vigorous, but there was no mud -- it was all very civilized, and the two men actually became friends as a result of the campaign."
Carl Empey, a vice president at Zions Bank, will take over Michie's spot as manager of public finance.
"Kent has been a huge asset to our organization for many years," Empey said. "In addition to his work on behalf of Zions Bank, Kent also is responsible for a lot of the legislation affecting the state's bond market and its triple-A rated credit quality."
Empey has been with Zions Bank for eight years. Prior to that, he worked as a public finance banker at First Security Van Kasper Inc., now known as Wells Fargo Brokerage Services. Prior to becoming a banker, Empey, a certified public accountant, was the state's chief deputy treasurer under Utah Treasurer Ed Alter.
"I've worked with Kent for eight years serving a number of clients," he said. "We expect that our work together will provide continuity for our clients. I know that Kent and Ed Alter had a great partnership -- hopefully that will continue for our firm moving forward."
