Ken Ross

Ken Ross was named Commissioner, Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation, by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm effective February 22nd, 2008.

As Commissioner, Mr. Ross is responsible for the regulation of Blue Cross Blue Shield, 27 HMOS, 139 banks, 169 domestic insurance companies, 221 credit unions, 1,303 foreign insurance companies, 1,750 investment advisers, 2,100 securities broker-dealers, 7,772 consumer finance lenders, 146,419 insurance agents, and 115,000 securities agents.

Prior to being appointed as Commissioner, Mr. Ross was the Acting Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner for Policy.  In addition to managing Policy Division staff and spearheading the Commissioner’s legislative agenda, his duties included serving as the principle liaison to Michigan Legislature, working with a variety of internal and external stakeholders concerning all legislative issues pertaining to the financial services industries in Michigan, testifying before legislative committees, meeting with state and federal policymakers on issues of concern falling within OFIR’ public policy footprint.

Ross came to OFIR as the Commissioner’s Chief of Staff in December 2003. In this role, Mr. Ross’ primary responsibilities include working with OFIR staff and a variety of external stakeholders and administration officials to ensure the execution of the Commissioner's agenda; ensuring the efficient day to day management of agency operations, and overseeing the management of OFIR media, public relations and legislative operations.

Prior to coming to OFIR, Mr. Ross served as the Vice President of Regulatory and Legal Affairs for the Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL). Responsibilities included directing all aspects of MCUL’s regulatory advocacy, compliance and legal affairs program. Ross was invited to speak at numerous regional meetings and conventions on a variety of regulatory compliance topics. In addition, Ross regularly participated in a variety of legislative and regulatory outreach initiatives, and routinely met with state and federal legislators and regulators.

Mr. Ross served as the Director of Regulatory Affairs for the MCUL from 2000 to 2003. As Regulatory Affairs Director, Ross led a diverse working group of CEO’s from Michigan credit unions through an eighteen-month comprehensive review of the Michigan Credit Union Act.  Working with a variety of stakeholders, Mr. Ross participated in drafting the re-codification of the Michigan Credit Union Act, which governs the operation of credit unions chartered by the state of Michigan.  Three years of work culminated in the passage of the re-codification which Governor Granholm signed into law in December of 2003.

Prior to his work with the MCUL, Mr. Ross was appointed an Assistant Attorney General, serving under Attorneys General Frank Kelley and Jennifer Granholm. Mr. Ross served in the Tort Defense Division, representing the interests of the State of Michigan, its agencies and employees, with responsibility for handling litigation at trial and at the appellate level in both state and federal courts.

Prior to that Mr. Ross also served as Chief of Staff for State Representative Agnes M. Dobronski. In that capacity, he was responsible for a wide variety of issues including crafting the legislative agenda, committee management and policy development.  His primary public policy focus areas were election and local government law.

Mr. Ross earned a J.D.,cum laude, from Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a Bachelors degree, double majoring in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Please note: this biographical information is provided for your use in promotional materials and to introduce Mr. Ross at speaking engagements. Please edit as appropriate. If you have any questions, contact OFIR Communications toll-free at (877) 999-6442. OFIR has insurance, bank, credit union, consumer finance and securities information available on our Internet site - www.michigan.gov/ofir.

Monday, August 11, 2008 Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) Commissioner Ken Ross appointed Stephen Hilker OFIR Chief Deputy Commissioner.

Mr. Hilker most recently served as a Bureau Director in the Michigan Department of Treasury and has 30 years of experience in administrative and financial management within government environments. 

Mr. Hilker’s duties include directing the operations of the agency to ensure its mission, goals and objectives are met. He also oversees the development and implementation of OFIR’s regulatory policy, provides technical support to the Commissioner and acts on behalf of the Commissioner in his absence.

Prior to his time at the Department of Treasury, Mr. Hilker’s positions in state government include Budget and Finance Officer for the Department of Public Health and CFO and Deputy Director for the Department of Social Services.

Mr. Hilker received his B.S. in Psychology and Statistics from Michigan State University.  He also received his MBA and performed post-graduate work in Accounting at Michigan State University and has done Doctoral studies at Western Michigan University with a focus on budgeting and program innovation.

He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Management Accountant and Certified Government Financial Manager.  He has 21 years experience in State budget and finance, 3 years of experience in quality control, and 7 years in tax revenue operations.

Mr. Hilker resides with his wife Nancy Hilker in Haslett. They have nine children.

Please note: this biographical information is provided for your use in promotional materials and to introduce Mr. Hilker at speaking engagements. Please edit as appropriate. If you have any questions, contact OFIR Communications toll-free at (877) 999-6442. OFIR has insurance, bank, credit union, consumer finance and securities information available on our Internet site - www.michigan.gov/dleg/1,1607,7-154-10555---,00.html.