Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is a dynamic financial and civic leader whose professional experience and public service have made her a champion for fiscal responsibility and accountability.

CFO Sink was first elected statewide in 2006 as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Sink oversees nearly 3,000 employees and an annual budget of $300 million in the Department of Financial Services. Her varied responsibilities include managing the state’s $24 billion in Treasury funds, serving as the State Fire Marshal, overseeing workers’ compensation and the state’s risk management programs, and licensing all insurance agents and investigating insurance fraud.

One of CFO Sink’s most important duties is serving as Florida’s fiscal watchdog, identifying waste and government inefficiencies. Since taking office, she has halted faulty contracting procedures, including putting a stop to Project Aspire, the $85 million over budget and frequently delayed accounting program. CFO Sink is working to develop best contracting practices for state government and is an advocate of increased governmental efficiency.

Serving as Chair of the Healthy Kids Board, CFO Sink has worked to streamline the popular program to help more working families purchase affordable health insurance for their children. In addition, CFO Sink is working to better educate Floridians about important financial issues, such as avoiding excessive debt, the importance of saving, making sound investment decisions and planning for retirement with the creation of the state’s first Financial Literacy Council.

As the state’s top fiscal officer, CFO Sink’s goal is to understand and prepare for all issues that may affect the future of Florida’s economy. To better understand the potential threat of climate change, she partnered with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Charles Bronson to co-host a series of Cabinet Workshops called “Conversations on Climate Change.” Out of these Cabinet-level workshops, the CFO launched a new climate change website at www.FloridaClimateChange.com, has joined the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) – a national network of investors focused on the business impacts of climate change – and as State Treasurer, has become the first Treasury to ask its investment managers for disclosure of climate risk.

Under CFO Sink’s direction, My Safe Florida Home is successfully helping Floridians learn how to harden their homes. At www.MySafeFloridaHome.com, Floridians in single-family, site-built homes can sign up for free wind inspections. Some Floridians are also eligible for matching grants if they choose to make improvements.

The CFO is also a member of Florida’s Cabinet, which includes the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Cabinet and Governor supervise executive clemency, land acquisition, bond finance and the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs, Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Law Enforcement, and Revenue. As a Cabinet member, the CFO is one of four members of the Financial Services Commission that oversees the appointed commissioners of insurance regulation and financial regulation.

Before her election in 2006, CFO Sink had a distinguished private career for nearly 30 years that culminated in her presidency of Florida’s largest bank, Bank of America. For seven years as president, she managed more than $40 billion in customer deposits while supervising more than 9,000 employees in 800 branches and earning a reputation for credibility, integrity and fair dealing.

While earning accomplishments in the financial world, she always made a strong commitment to public service through civic and community leadership. Governor Lawton Chiles appointed CFO Sink to the Commission on Government Accountability to the People, where she helped lead efforts to make state government more responsive to the people of Florida. As vice chair of Florida TaxWatch, she was an advocate of fiscal responsibility in state government. She worked diligently for Florida’s children through her service on Gov. Chiles’ Commission on Education, the Hillsborough Education Foundation Board of Directors and as chair of Take Stock in Children.

A dedicated community leader, her civic involvements have included service with the Florida Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Junior Achievement of West Central Florida, Beth El Farm Workers Ministry, Redlands Christian Migrant Association, and chairman of the board of the United Way of Hillsborough County. Sink’s record demonstrates her firm belief in public accountability, economic growth, fiscal discipline and a devotion to future generations of Floridians.

CFO Sink grew up on a farm in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and earned a degree in math from Wake Forest University. She resides in Thonotosassa and Tallahassee with her husband, Bill McBride. They are the proud parents of Bert, a sophomore and football player at Stanford University, and Lexi, a freshman at Wake Forest University.

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