Sutherland Institute’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the hiring of Boyd Matheson as president of the Institute.
Matheson, former chief of staff for Utah Sen. Mike Lee, will be formally introduced as president Wednesday, March 30, in downtown Salt Lake City and is slated to take the helm April 4, allowing board chairman Stan Swim to conclude his service as interim president.
“It is with deep humility and gratitude that I accept this position with Sutherland Institute,” Matheson said. “Sutherland is an organization with a rich history and a reputation for its thoughtful approach to ‘making sound ideas broadly popular among governmental, opinion, and business leaders, and the citizens generally,’ as envisioned by the words of Sutherland Institute’s founder, Gaylord Swim. His vision guides me:
‘This process requires strong advocates, certainly, but it also takes a counter-balancing sense of humility, civility, and dialogue. Utahns have the capacity, the character, and thus the potential to lead out among the states. The Sutherland Dream is that we will adopt and implement public policies that will be the envy of, and set a standard for, the nation.’”
Matheson added, “I wish to convey to the Board my deep appreciation for their faith in me – which faith I hope is rapidly replaced by the kind of confidence that comes from extraordinary results. I look forward to working with the board, supporters, staff and the community in this next important season for Sutherland Institute.”
“As my chief of staff, Boyd was an astute adviser and a dear friend,” said Sen. Lee. “He was an essential bridge builder whose thoughtful judgment I trusted implicitly. Boyd is, in the words of essayist William George Jordan, one of the ‘reformers of the world’ – ‘its men of mighty purpose. They are men with the courage of individual conviction.’ I am confident he will assist Sutherland Institute in their critical efforts to reform how government works and civil society thrives.”
Matheson emerged as the Sutherland board’s choice after a nationwide search involving dozens of potential candidates and numerous conversations. “Everyone who knows Boyd can attest to his leadership, his character and his team-building capacity,” Swim said. “We are confident his deep grasp of America’s foundational principles and the vision he laid out for the Institute will help Sutherland to have an even greater impact at the state and national levels.”
In addition to his service as Sen. Lee’s chief of staff, Matheson most recently built a successful political consulting firm advising national and state elected officials and candidates. From 2005 to 2012, he served as president of Trillium Strategies, a consulting firm focused on branding, business transformation and operational excellence.
