F. Thomas Howard

F. Thomas (Tom) Howard joined Commonwealth Economics in 2013 as a Partner. He retired from the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Office of Financial Management (“OFM”) in the Finance and Administration Cabinet where he served as the Executive Director since 2005 and previously as the Deputy Executive Director. In that capacity he oversaw the Commonwealth’s $12 billion investment and appropriation-supported debt programs.

Mr. Howard has a background in banking and investment management. Before joining the Commonwealth in 1989 as a portfolio manager, Mr. Howard held various positions with First Security Bank & Trust Company and Eclipse Capital Management, Inc. In addition, Mr. Howard served three years as a public member and issuer representative of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, which regulates the activities of banks and broker-dealers under the direction of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is also a past chair of the State Debt Management Network, an affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers.

During his tenure, Mr. Howard assisted the Commonwealth’s legal team with the Department of Revenue v. Davis Case, which worked its way through the state court system before being heard by the United States Supreme Court. The question before the court was for providing an income tax exemption for interest on bonds issued by the state, while denying the exemption to interest on bonds issued by other states. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the Commonwealth. Additionally, Mr. Howard was very active in planning and financing many of the state’s highest profile projects, such as the Louisville Yum Center Project, the Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project, the University of Kentucky Hospital, Louisville Metro Center City (Omni) Project, the new Lexington Convention Center and Rupp Arena renovations, the University of Kentucky Winslow Public Private Partnership and most recently funding of the settlement agreement for the Kentucky Communication Network Authority and the Kentucky Wired broadband project.

Mr. Howard received his Bachelor’s of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Kentucky and holds the FINRA/MSRB Series 50 and 54 designations as Commonwealth Economics Principal Municipal Advisor.