Robert Warnick - Southern Utah University

Michael 0. Leavitt
Biographical Sketch
Solid and substantial leadership in business, education and politics has been the hallmark
of Michael 0. Leavitt. Prominent roles in each of these areas have prepared him to become
Utah's Chief Executive.
Mike is president and chief executive officer of The Leavitt Group, a regional insurance
firm with 34 offices and 78,000 clients in Utah and the western United States. The firm's
revenues have grown to nearly $100 million annually and it now ranks in the top 50 such
organizations in America. Mike's business leadership has led to appointments on boards of
directors of some of America's major corporations, including Pacificorp, Utah Power & Light
Co., and Great Western Thrift and Loan.
Much of Mike's public policy involvement has been in the education arena. He is
presently a member of the Utah State Board of Regents, which oversees Utah's nine colleges and
universities. He was chairman of the Utah Commission on Efficiency in Education. For four
years he served as chairman of the Southern Utah University Board of Trustees and he is
currently a member of the Legislature's Strategic Planning Committee, which is devising a long-
term plan for Utah's public education system.
In politics, Mike has led numerous state-wide campaigns, including Jake Garn's 1980 and
1986 campaigns, and Orrin Hatch's re-elections in 1982 and 1988. In 1984, he served in
Washington, D.C., as the Regional Coordinator of Planning and Polling for President Reagan's
re-election campaign, having specific responsibility for 13 critical Northeastern States.
Mike was born in Cedar City and has a bachelor's degree in Business and Economics
from Southern Utah University. He is married to the former Jacalyn Smith of Newton, Utah.
They are the parents of five children and the family lives in Salt Lake City.