About Alex
Alex Sink’s story is all too rare these days. The story of a woman ready to lead Florida as governor – whose priorities and values, leadership style and perspective, were shaped by decades of real-world experience as a business leader and a life lived outside of politics.
A Different Kind of Leader
After a successful 26 year career in business, Alex Sink looked at state government and was troubled by what she saw: A system filled with career politicians and entrenched special interests. A system dominated by politics-as-usual, but woefully lacking in accountability, common sense, or real solutions for Florida.
So in 2006, never having sought elected office before, Alex ran for CFO.
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 major newspaper in Florida endorsed Alex’s candidacy for CFO, praising Alex’s "impressive qualifications," noting "she has the perspectives of a businesswoman," and extolling her "results-driven demeanor and results-defining career."
A Commitment to Accountability
Today, as the state’s elected CFO, Alex oversees approximately 2,000 employees and an annual budget of $200 million in the Department of Financial Services – where she puts her business experience and know-how to work as the determined fiscal and consumer watchdog for the people of Florida.
Time and again, Alex has cracked down on unnecessary spending and demanding accountability for Florida's contracts – including putting a stop to Project Aspire, an $89 million, over-budget and under-performing state accounting program she inherited upon taking office. Alex is setting a whole new standard for cutting waste in her own department, with businesslike steps such as consolidating consumer hotline centers and cutting millions in wireless and printing costs. She brought in other private sector experts and used their best practices to save $12 million a year for the state’s risk management programs. And recently, Alex announced new reforms to streamline unnecessary middle management in her agency, creating greater efficiency and saving taxpayers $8 million to $10 million a year – a step that could save Florida as much as $277 million if done statewide.
Alex has also been an aggressive consumer advocate, launching important and long-overdue initiatives like the Safeguard Our Seniors Task Force to protect older Floridians from financial fraud, and Florida Housing Help, which provides assistance to Floridians facing mortgage foreclosure and connects homeowners with volunteer lawyers to help them stay in their homes.
Decades of Experience in the Real World
Florida has never had a governor who comes to the job with Alex Sink’s hands-on, real-world experience in the private sector. And with over one million Floridians out of work and Florida consistently ranking among the top three states in the nation for home foreclosures – the time has come for a leader with Alex’s business experience and know-how.
A respected leader in Florida’s business community for over 25 years, Alex is running for governor with a plan to get Florida’s economy moving again now – and create long-term economic prosperity well into the future.
Before her election in 2006, Alex worked her way up during a distinguished business career that culminated in her leadership of Florida’s largest bank. Alex 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 local customers.
During her career, Alex helped thousands of Floridians get the resources they needed to start or expand their own businesses, both large and small, and helped everyday Floridians achieve dreams like sending their children to college.
Leadership through Service for Florida
While in the private sector, Alex repeatedly gave back to her state and community. Governor Lawton Chiles appointed Alex to the Florida 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 and as chair of Take Stock in Children.
Alex’s civic work also 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.
Proud Mother with Rural Roots
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, and they are the proud parents of Bert and Lexi.
