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It’s a story all too rare in government these days. The story of a leader whose experience and values, leadership style and perspective, were shaped by a life lived outside of politics.
After a successful twenty-six-year career in private business, Alex Sink looked to Tallahassee and was troubled by what she saw: A city filled with career politicians and entrenched special interests. A capital long on politics-as-usual, but disappointingly short on solutions to Florida’s challenges.
Alex recognized the need for problem-solving, new ideas and accountability in state government.
So in 2006, never having sought elective office before, Alex ran for Chief Financial Officer.
In the words of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Alex offered Floridians something new and different: “Unmatched business experience and forward-looking plans.” Or, as the Bradenton Herald put it: “There’s no need to pick a politician when there is a professional like Alex Sink standing in the wings.”
Nearly every newspaper in Florida joined the News-Journal and the Bradenton Herald in endorsing Alex’s candidacy for CFO.
The Florida Times-Union praised Alex’s “impressive qualifications,” noting “she has the perspectives of a businesswoman.” The Orlando Sentinel extolled her“results-driven demeanor and results-defining career.” The Palm Beach Post urged Floridians to “start fresh, with Sink.”
Today, as the state’s elected CFO, Alex oversees nearly 3,000 employees and an annual budget of $300 million in the Department of Financial Services – where she puts her business experience and know-how to work as the outspoken fiscal and consumer watchdog for the people of Florida.
As CFO, Alex has kept her pledge to crack down on unaccountable, poorly-performing, no-bid state contracts – slashing her department’s no-bid contracts by more than half just two years into her term. She’s scoured Tallahassee’s bureaucracy for inefficient practices and wasteful spending, using her business acumen to save taxpayers millions.
And Alex has been an aggressive consumer advocate, launching innovative and long-overdue initiatives like the Safeguard Our Seniors Task Force, created to protect older Floridians from financial fraud.
Before her election in 2006, Alex’s distinguished business career culminated in her leadership of Florida’s largest bank. 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 dedication to her customers.
While in the private sector, Alex repeatedly gave back to her state and community. Governor Lawton Chiles appointed Alex to the Commission on Government Accountability to the People, charged with finding ways state government could be more responsive to the people of Florida. As vice chair of Florida TaxWatch, she became a recognized leader on fiscal responsibility. And Alex dedicated herself to Florida’s children through her service on Governor Chiles’ Commission on Education, the Hillsborough Education Foundation Board of Directors and as chair of Take Stock in Children.
Alex’s civic work includes service in the Florida Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, Junior Achievement of West Central Florida and as chairman of the board of the United Way of Hillsborough County.
Alex grew up on a farm in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and earned a degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University. She resides in Thonotosassa with her husband, Bill McBride. They are the proud parents of Bert, a junior and football player at Stanford University, and Leix, a sophomore at Wake Forest University.
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