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83–484 PDF 2002

S. Hrg. 107–833

NOMINATIONS OF ALEJANDRO M. SANCHEZ,

ANDREW M. SAUL, AND GORDON J. WHITING

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON THE

NOMINATIONS OF ALEJANDRO M. SANCHEZ, ANDREW M. SAUL, AND

GORDON J. WHITING TO BE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD

NOVEMBER 15, 2002

Printed for the use of the Committee on Governmental Affairs

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman

CARL LEVIN, Michigan

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois

ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey

MAX CLELAND, Georgia

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware

JEAN CARNAHAN, Missouri

MARK DAYTON, Minnesota

FRED THOMPSON, Tennessee

TED STEVENS, Alaska

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah

JIM BUNNING, Kentucky

PETER G. FITZGERALD, Illinois

JOYCE A. RECHTSCHAFFEN, Staff Director and Counsel

JENNIFER E. HAMILTON, Research Assistant

NANCI E. LANGLEY, Deputy Staff Director,

Subcommitte on International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services

RICHARD A. HERTLING, Minority Staff Director

JOHANNA L. HARDY, Minority Senior Counsel

ANN C. FISHER, Minority Professional Staff Member,

Subcommitte on International Security, Proliferation and Federal Services

DARLA D. CASSELL, Chief Clerk

(III)

C O N T E N T S

Opening statement: Page

Senator Akaka .................................................................................................. 1

Prepared statement:

Senator Bunning ............................................................................................... 11

WITNESSES

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2002

Alejandro M. Sanchez, to be a Member of the Federal Retirement Thrift

Investment Board ................................................................................................. 2

Andrew M. Saul, to be a Member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment

Board ..................................................................................................................... 2

Gordon J. Whiting, to be a Member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board ........................................................................................................... 2

Hon. Bob Graham, a U.S. Senator from the State of Florida .............................. 5

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Graham, Hon. Bob:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 5

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 11

Sanchez, Alejandro M.

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 2

Biographical and professional information ..................................................... 12

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 16

Saul, Andrew M.:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 2

Biographical and professional information ..................................................... 21

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 31

Whiting, Gordon J.:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 2

Biographical and professional information ..................................................... 37

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 52

(1)

NOMINATIONS OF ALEJANDRO M. SANCHEZ,

ANDREW M. SAUL, AND GORDON J. WHITING

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2002

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC.

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m., in room

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel Akaka, presiding.

Present: Senator Akaka.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA

Senator AKAKA. The Committee will please come to order. I want

to thank everyone for being here today.

This morning we are considering the nominations of Alejandro

Sanchez, Andrew Saul, and Gordon Whiting to be members of the

Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Committee rules require that an inquiry be conducted as to the experience, qualifications, suitability, and integrity of a nominee to serve in the position

to which he or she has been named.

We have received all of the required information on our three

nominees. Our nominees have provided written responses to prehearing questions submitted by the Committee concerning issues

relevant to their positions on the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

In addition, our Committee staff have reviewed all of the information including the financial disclosure reports submitted by the

Office of Government Ethics. Copies of the nominees’ biographical

information and pre-hearing responses will be included in this

record as part of this hearing, and will be available upon request.

Our witnesses’ financial statements are available for inspection

by the public in the Committee office, and I have personally reviewed their FBI background investigation reports.

The Committee rules require that all nominees be under oath

while testifying on matters relating to their suitability for office, including the policies and programs the nominee will pursue if confirmed. So, gentlemen, will you please stand and raise your right

hand?

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and

nothing but the truth, so help you, God?

Mr. SANCHEZ. I do.

Mr. SAUL. I do.

Mr. WHITING. I do.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. You may be seated.

2

1 Biographical and professional information appears in the Appendix on page 12.

Responses to pre-hearing questions appears in the Appendix on page 16.

2 Biographical and professional information appears in the Appendix on page 21.

Responses to pre-hearing questions appears in the Appendix on page 31.

3 Biographical and professional information appears in the Appendix on page 37.

Responses to pre-hearing questions appears in the Appendix on page 52.

Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Saul and Mr. Whiting, I would like to thank

you for being here today and to congratulate you on your nominations. I would like to ask at this time that you introduce your families to the Committee, and let me call you in this order: Mr.

Sanchez, Mr. Saul and Mr. Whiting. Mr. Sanchez.

TESTIMONY OF ALEJANDRO M. SANCHEZ,1 TO BE A MEMBER

OF THE FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning to you,

sir, and to the staff members of the Committee.

It is an honor for me and my family to be here this morning, to

be considered for this appointment, sir. And my wife, Mercedes,

and our two daughters, Cristina and Carolina are here with me.

They flew up last night, sir, from Florida.

And if confirmed I will serve with great interest to this appointment, sir, and it’s a tremendous honor to serve my country if given

this opportunity, as I did when I served in the U.S. Air Force before, sir.

As an immigrant to this great country, I can tell you that being

considered for this appointment goes beyond any words, Mr. Chairman, that I can state to you this morning.

I wish my father could be here today, sir. I know he’s looking

from above. My mom was ill and she could not come up from Florida this morning to be with my family. Once again, Mr. Chairman,

thank you for this opportunity, and if confirmed I will serve with

great honor. Thank you, sir.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. I am glad you are here and I am

glad to have met your family, and I wish you well.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you.

Senator AKAKA. Mr. Saul.

TESTIMONY OF ANDREW M. SAUL,2 TO BE A MEMBER OF THE

FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD

Mr. SAUL. Senator, likewise, this is of course a great honor, and

if confirmed I would do everything I can to make this a successful

agency and help with whatever I can to better the policies of the

United States. It truly is a great honor, and thank you very much

for inviting us and holding this hearing.

I came last night with my wife, Denise Saul, who’s sitting right

behind me, and I’m just very honored to be here. It’s a true, true

honor. Thank you, sir.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you for being here, and I welcome you

and your wife here.

Mr. Whiting.

TESTIMONY OF GORDON J. WHITING,3 TO BE A MEMBER OF

THE FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD

Mr. WHITING. Mr. Chairman, thank you.

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I came with my mother, Doris Simmons and my brother, Brian

C. Whiting, and am greatly honored to be here today.

And if confirmed, I look forward to working very hard in the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Thank you very much.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much, and it is great again to

meet your family, and to have them join you in these hearings.

May I ask you for your statements, if you have any to make at

this time? Mr. Sanchez.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Mr. Chairman, I didn’t get a chance to prepare any

written statements, other than what I just gave you as my opening

remarks.

Senator AKAKA. That is fine.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you, sir.

Mr. SAUL. I think that the hearing that we had with your staff

really was pretty complete, and that plus the questions that were

submitted by your Committee that I have answered beforehand, I

think sets out the policies that I would intend to implement if I am

confirmed to this position.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. Mr. Whiting.

Mr. WHITING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I said, it’s a great

honor to be here today, and I wanted to thank you and all the

other Members of the Committee, and also the staff members for

all the hard work that they have done to get us here today, so

thank you.

Senator AKAKA. At this point in time I want to join you in thanking the staff for their work. They have certainly worked hard to

prepare this hearing and to help me call this hearing.

So thank you very much for bringing your families and for your

statements. I have three questions that we ask all nominees, and

I ask you to respond to them together as I ask them.

Is there anything you are aware of in your background that

might present a conflict of interest for the duties of the office to

which you have been nominated? Your response?

Mr. SANCHEZ. No, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. SAUL. Mr. Chairman, as stated in my questionnaire, there is

a possible conflict regarding the Barclay’s Bank, which has been

disclosed, and I have assured and signed a waiver that I would

apply for a waiver if a decision has to be—comes before the Committee regarding the Barclay’s Bank involvement.

Senator AKAKA. Mr. Whiting.

Mr. WHITING. No, Mr. Chairman, there is no conflict.

Senator AKAKA. Do you know of any reason, personal or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and honorably

discharging the responsibilities of the office to which you have been

nominated?

Mr. SANCHEZ. No, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. SAUL. No, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. WHITING. No, Mr. Chairman.

Senator AKAKA. Do you agree without reservation to respond to

any reasonable summons to appear and testify before any duly constituted Committee of Congress if you are confirmed?

Mr. SANCHEZ. Yes, sir, I would do so, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. SAUL. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. WHITING. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman.

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Senator AKAKA. Thank you. I now have a few questions of my

own, the first being directed to all of you. You are aware of the termination of the contract to modernize the Thrift Savings Plan computer system and the resulting lawsuit. Having said that, let us

put aside for the moment the fact that the new system continues

to have problems and still is not ready. I know I speak for many

Members of Congress in expressing concern about the very public

disagreement that the TSP has with the Justice and Labor Departments. There have been press releases making charges of political

motivations and a series of very combative letters. The question is:

Have you given any thought to this situation, and if so, have you

come to any conclusions about how to address such disagreements

in the future?

I will call on you, Mr. Sanchez, first, Mr. Saul, then Mr. Whiting.

And following your answers, I will call on my friend, Senator

Graham, for any comments and statement that he has. Mr.

Sanchez.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, through my efforts of my interviews for the staff

and the questionnaires I’ve received, I’ve discovered the situation

that you’ve related to. And based on the knowledge that I have

now, Mr. Chairman, if confirmed to this position, I would make

this one of my top priorities as a board member, to try to resolve

this issue and try to avoid issues like this in the future. I think

that seeking a third party outside vendor to do work for the board,

as for any other entity, that third party has the expertise is a good

thing. However, the drawing up of the contract, the administration

of that contract has to be very carefully done to ensure that it is

done on a timely and cost effective basis. I think that we have a

fiduciary obligation to the beneficiaries of this fund, who are the

workers, to both protect and enhance the fund in every meaningful

way. And one of those is to make sure that they have access, sir,

to their investments.

So I think that, if confirmed I will work very diligently to make

sure that these type of things are avoided in the future, and try

to resolve this current conflict now. And I think a cooperative nature in a cooperative way is the answer in working with the Department of Justice, whether they sue on behalf of the board or if

outside counsel is hired. But I think there is a way to do that and

do it to the benefit of the beneficiaries.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you, sir.

Senator AKAKA. Mr. Saul.

Mr. SAUL. Senator, I am very much aware of this problem that

you speak of, again through your staff, and other questions that

have been sent to me. I know this is a very big problem, an embarrassing problem for everybody concerned. And I think that I could

assure you if I’m confirmed to this position that I would spend

whatever time is necessary to get to the bottom of this problem.

At this time, obviously, I don’t know enough about what occurred

and where it’s going and what the problems really are, but I assure

you that this would be one of the priorities of this Committee, and

we will do whatever is necessary, whether it be through outside

consultants or in house, to come to a fair and equitable resolution

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1The prepared statement of Senator Graham appears in the Appendix on page 11.

of this problem, but I am very aware of it, and I take it very seriously, and I understand it’s one of the priorities that has to be resolved.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you. Mr. Whiting.

Mr. WHITING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Yes, I am aware of the issue, and I feel it is one that needs to

be resolved as soon as possible because I am very aware of the confusion that can occur when different government agencies don’t

speak with one voice, and I think it’s very important that it be resolved, and extremely important for the participants. This is not

something that I think that they like hearing about, and I think

that—I know I will certainly work very diligently, if confirmed, to

make sure it’s resolved expeditiously.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you.

Senator Graham, it is great to have you here with us this morning. I will ask you for any statement you would like to make at this

time.

TESTIMONY OF HON. BOB GRAHAM,1 A U.S. SENATOR FROM

THE STATE OF FLORIDA

Senator GRAHAM. Thank you very much, Senator Akaka. I appreciate the opportunity to say a few words on behalf of my good

friend, Alex Sanchez. I have a longer statement, which I would ask

be printed in full in the record.

Senator AKAKA. It will be printed in the record, thank you.

Senator GRAHAM. Thank you very much, Senator.

The last responses to the very thoughtful question you asked I

think underscores the kind of characteristics, background, and aptitudes that Mr. Sanchez will bring to the Federal Retirement Thrift

Investment Board. Alex, as I indicated, is not only a fellow Floridian, but also a long-time personal friend, and is the Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Bankers Association.

In that position he has been the banking community’s advocate,

involved in a variety of legislative and regulatory issues at the

State and Federal level. In fulfilling that responsibility, he has

demonstrated his extraordinary abilities to create personal relationship with his colleagues and decisionmakers, as well as to be

a constructive force in shaping issues for resolution in the broad

public interest. I am certain that he will bring those same qualities

to this new position.

Alex has a background in law. He received his JD from the University of Iowa in 1983. He then began working with a Miamibased law firm, Sinclair Lewis, before becoming General Counsel

for the Florida Department of Commerce, and later Senior Corporate Attorney for GTE Information Services. So he has had experience in both government and the private sector.

Before receiving his law degree he was in the U.S. Air Force for

5 years, receiving his honorable discharge in 1981.

I believe that these experiences within the business, financial,

and governmental sector, as well as his wide range of civic activities which are discussed in my full statement, have fully prepared

him to assume this responsibility.

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He is joined today by his family. He has been married for 20

years to Mercedes Hervas, and they have two beautiful children,

Cristina and Carolina. Will they please stand?

So, Mr. Chairman, I commend Mr. Sanchez for this position and

urge his earliest consideration by this Committee. I also wish well

to the other two nominees who are here today.

Mr. SAUL. Thank you.

Mr. WHITING. Thank you.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Senator.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much, Senator, for your presence and for your support. It will certainly make a difference to

this Committee. Thank you.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Mr. Chairman, do you mind if my family and I just

take a quick photograph with Senator Graham for our historical

family record just on the side?

Senator AKAKA. We will have a moment of recess.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

[Recess.]

Senator AKAKA. The Committee will come to order.

My next question is to Mr. Saul, who if confirmed will chair the

Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. You and other members of the Board have a fiduciary responsibility to the TSP investors. After visiting the TSP and Board websites, it struck me that

there was a lack of information about the governance structure of

the TSP and the Board. What steps will you take to ensure the

transparency of operations and accountability of the Board members and the executive director as fiduciary agents of the TSP?

Mr. SAUL. Well, Senator, if I’m confirmed, one of the things that’s

come to light is that there is concern from some of the staff about

this particular matter that you talk about. As far as I’m concerned,

I think education is the most important thing because a lot of the

people that invest their hard-earned money in the Thrift Savings

Plan are not sophisticated investors, have not had a lot of investing

experience, and I think the fact that we must be sure that they understand the choices in the investment that they’re making with

their retirement funds. I take this very, very seriously. And I think

one of the things, as far as accessibility of the fund to the potential

investors, it’s most important that the website and all other advertising materials and educational materials from the fund are properly documented and done. This is something that I would again

put as a priority that we look at.

I think that the Thrift Savings Plan is one of the most important

tools for the government in recruiting and—not only in recruiting,

but retaining our best people in both the military and in the civilian workforce, and I think it’s crucial that the education process is

very clear and the best that it can be.

So I assure you if I am confirmed as chairman, as a member of

this board, this again would be one of the priorities that we would

look at, sir.

Senator AKAKA. Well, thank you very much for your response. As

you have noted, educating investors is essential, and I am certainly

glad to hear you share that view.

Mr. Whiting, TSP contributors risk their retirements on the future success of their investments. I know many participants look

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forward to the time when they have daily access to their accounts.

In anticipation of that event, what should the Board and executive

director do to ensure that participants have the financial knowledge to make informed investment decisions and how can these efforts be improved?

Mr. WHITING. Mr. Chairman, I think it is very important that

the participants have daily access to their investments and understand how they’re performing. But in order for them to fully appreciate that, I think that it’s important that they become educated as

to the different types of investments there are and how the different types of investments work, and I think there are a variety

of things that can be done.

For example, I agree with you and I think that it’s important to

have a redesigned website, one that gives a lot more information.

For example, there you could possibly have links to the different

managers of the various accounts. There are a lot of different financial tools that are available and educational tools that are

available through the Internet that could be linked to that. Also

the Board could work or should work with the staff and the executive director and everybody at the Thrift Board to make sure that

these educational materials are updated and distributed also in

hard copy for people that are not familiar with the Internet or don’t

have access to the Internet.

And if those steps were taken I think it would go a long way to

helping the investors really appreciate and understand where their

investments sit, so that they can understand and plan their future,

because it is such an important part of their planning for retirement.

Senator AKAKA. Thank you.

Mr. Sanchez, as you know, members of the Federal Retirement

Thrift Investment Board are to act as fiduciaries, protecting the retirement accounts of Federal employees and looking out for their

best interest. This is a critical responsibility in light of the current

dispute between the Board, the executive director, and Department

of Labor. It has been brought to our attention that you have been

named a defendant in a lawsuit by the shareholders of Insurance

Management Solutions Group, Incorporated. The lawsuit alleges

that you, as the director of the company, breached your fiduciary

duty to the shareholders. Because of the position for which you

have been nominated involves substantial fiduciary responsibilities,

the Committee must follow up on these serious allegations.

According to the complaint in the IMSG litigation you served on

a special committee of the board of directors. The board was supposed to consider the, and I quote, ‘‘going private,’’ transaction by

which the outstanding publicly-held stock of IMSG would be purchased by the Bankers Insurance Group. It is this transaction that

the plaintiffs allege has harmed them, and in connection in which

they allege you breached your fiduciary duties to the shareholders.

What was your involvement in the decision of the company to go

private and be acquired by the Bankers Insurance Group?

Mr. SANCHEZ. Mr. Chairman, I resigned from the board of that

company in early May of this year because I just didn’t have

enough time to serve and give it the proper attention that it required. The basis of the lawsuit is, as you stated, sir, that this inVerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:19 Feb 25, 2003 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 83484.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: SAFFAIRS
8

vestor is unhappy with the price or the transaction itself. But the

company has not been privatized as of today, that I know of. I don’t

stay in contact on a daily basis, but as of last week they have not

privatized yet.

So the suit alleges unhappiness with the price that the company

is seeking to go private with, but that decision by the current board

members hasn’t even been made yet, and certainly was not made

as of when I resigned in May 2002.

So my counsel is seeking to have me dismissed. Right now the

two complaints are being amended into one, and my counsel will

seek to have me dismissed because I was not part of the decision

in May, and certainly a decision hasn’t even been made yet as to

what price it would be.

Senator AKAKA. Did you, in connection with your work on that

transaction, breach your fiduciary duties as a director of IMSG?

Mr. SANCHEZ. No, sir. We hired one of the companies that does

a—the due diligence to see what the fair price was for selling the

company, and obviously we would not—at least up to the time that

I served on the board, sir, would not have entertained any offers

to sell it either to another company or privatize it that did not meet

the fair range of the price set by this investment company that

would set forth the reasonable price in accordance with what the

market demanded for selling that company. So as of the time I was

on the board that was a direction the special committee was going

in. What has happened since that time, I obviously do not have

knowledge of, but my answer is, no, sir, I did not breach any fiduciary obligations I had to the shareholders or to my fellow directors.

Senator AKAKA. The complaint in that case also alleges that you

ignored your duties as a member of the company’s audit and compensation committees. Can you make any comment on this?

Mr. SANCHEZ. Sir, I spent a lot of hours and a lot of time fulfilling my obligations there because—it was something seriously

that I took, and the reason I resigned was I felt it was just too

much of an investment of time and I had to leave at that point in

time in May of this year. So, no, I fulfilled my obligations, sir. I

served up to the day I resigned on that board, attended every meeting and never was absent, as the records will reflect.

Senator AKAKA. Well, I thank you for your responses. We wanted

this for the record.

Mr. SANCHEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator AKAKA. Do you have any further comments on this case

or the allegations against you?

Mr. SANCHEZ. No, Mr. Chairman. I have found out—this is the

first board I’ve ever served on in the private sector of course—I’ve

been on many nonprofit boards, and it was an interesting experience to—once you put your name out there, how you’re an easy target. But I can tell you that the obligations, once you’re appointed,

whether it’s a private or public board, is something that I take very

seriously.

Senator AKAKA. I thank you very much for your responses, Mr.

Sanchez, and also responses from the other members seated here.

Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Saul and Mr. Whiting, I want to thank you for

your cooperation with this process and for being with us today. The

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Committee has done its work, and I have no further questions for

you unless there are any other comments that any of you wish to

make at this point in time.

If not, I want to again thank you and tell you that you may be

excused.

If there is no further business to come before the Committee, this

hearing is adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 10:31 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

(11)

A P P E N D I X

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR BUNNING

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Today we are considering the nominations of three individuals to be members of

the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. This board has the important responsibility of overseeing and managing the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees.

The Thrift Savings Plan is an integral part of retirement planning for many government workers.

By establishing personal investment accounts, the Thrift Savings Plan gives Federal employees more control over a portion of their retirement savings and more

flexibility with their money.

According to the Congressional Research Service, almost 87 percent of eligible

Federal workers covered under ‘‘FERS’’ and 66 percent of workers covered under

‘‘CSRS’’ participated in the Thrift Savings Plan in 2001.

CRS also reports that in March of this year, government employees had invested

over $106 billion in the Thrift Savings Plan.

I hope every government employee fully understands how important the Thrift

Savings Plan will be to their future retirement, and makes the appropriate decisions

about participating.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about ways the Thrift Savings Plan

can better serve government employees and meet the retirement goals of all workers.

Thank you.

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR GRAHAM

It is a pleasure to be here before the Governmental Affairs Committee to introduce a fellow Floridian and longtime friend, Alejandro (Alex) Sanchez. He will be

an outstanding member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

Alex is the Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Bankers Association,

headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida.

He is the Florida banking community’s advocate involving all legislative and regulatory issues in the state capitol and Washington, D.C.

I know of his extraordinary abilities to create a personal link between individuals

in our state and decision-makers in Tallahassee and Washington.

His efforts, bringing groups to Washington, and keeping in touch via e-mail and

other avenues, has ensured that there is always open communication and a lively

exchange of ideas from those who are affected by banking legislation and regulation

every day.

Alex has a background in law, receiving his J.D. from the University of Iowa in

1983, and then working with a Miami-based law firm, Sinclair Lewis, being General

Counsel for the Florida Department of Commerce, and serving as Senior Corporate

Attorney for GTE Information Services.

He served in the United States Air Force for almost 5 years, receiving an honorable discharge in 1981.

This experience, combined with his professional expertise, is put to good use when

Alex serves as a motivational speaker for at=risk school children in his community.

He has also been active in the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program in Tampa, and he

is a member of the board for the Florida Center for Children and Youth.

I am pleased to see that his family is able to join him here today. He has been

married 20 years to Mercedes Hervas, and they have two beautiful children:

Cristina and Carolina.

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