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.