Gov. Sandoval Appoints Private Sector Financial Adviser To Economic Forum
CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval has appointed Las Vegas financial adviser Ken Wiles to the Economic Forum, a panel of mostly private citizen fiscal experts charged with making tax revenue projections for the state.
Wiles is currently a managing director at Acceleron Group, a firm that specializes in providing domestic and international companies with investment banking, private equity and strategic financial advisory services with an emphasis on restructuring and turnaround activities. Wiles is a member of the senior management team responsible for establishing the company’s strategic direction, leading business development activities and directing client engagements.
He was appointed to fill the unexpired term of John Restrepo of Las Vegas, who has resigned from the panel. The appointment lasts through Jan. 31, 2012.
The five-member panel has three appointments made by the governor, one by the Assembly speaker and one by the Senate majority leader. State law requires the forum to make projections of the revenue that will be collected by the state. The governor and Legislature must rely on Economic Forum estimates for the preparation and adoption of a balanced state budget.
“Ken’s financial and operational experience within growing organizations ranging from venture-stage companies to multi-location, publicly traded corporations will be a vital asset to the Economic Forum as Nevada continues on a path to economic recovery,” Sandoval said “From serving as a professor to working day in and day out in the financial world, Ken’s intimate knowledge of how the economy works will now benefit his fellow Nevadans.”
Prior to Acceleron, Wiles served as the chief financial officer and senior vice president of business development of AppForge Inc. where he led the company’s strategic business relationships with companies including Nokia, Microsoft, Oracle, Palm, RIM, AT&T, and Symbian, among others. In addition, Wiles was responsible for finance, accounting, investor relations, human resources and management information systems. The software firm ceased operations in March 2007.
Wiles has also been a vice president at Lloyd & Company, an investment banking firm that specialized in providing investment banking and strategic financial advisory services to middle-market companies and served as chief financial officer for SOMAR, Inc.
For a total of 17 years, Wiles was a finance professor at the Kenan Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an adjunct finance professor in the executive MBA program. A published author with articles appearing in The Journal of Financial Economics, The Journal of Empirical Finance, Financial Management, and Financial Analyst Journal, Wiles was also the recipient of the MBA and undergraduate teaching awards while at Kenan Flagler.
Wiles has also held positions in liquidation accounting at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); in the accounting department at Miller and Long, Inc., one of the nation’s largest concrete subcontractors; and at Golembe Associates, a financial institutions investment banking firm.
The Economic Forum was created in 1993 with Senate Bill 23 introduced by former state Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno. Before then, the governor and lawmakers independently determined what the revenue estimates would be for purposes of adopting a balanced budget based on analysis from their own fiscal staff. Raggio said the proposal was intended to depoliticize the process of setting revenue estimates.
In testimony in support of the bill at the Senate Finance Committee in 1993, Raggio said: “Whether personally, or not, there is always that feeling that if we can (massage) these projections, and make them a little bigger, then we can accommodate this or that. I think that’s the problem.”
Members of the forum are paid $80 for one day of preparation for each meeting and $80 for the meeting itself. They also get the same per diem reimbursements and travel expenses provide to state employees.
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