Laureate Michael Burns.

• Author: Slaten, Russ
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Junior Achievement

Michael Burns, former Executive Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, passed away last year in July at the age of sixty-eight, yet his legacy of dedication and commitment to Alaska still lives on in the state's business community.

"He was a very personable person. He liked people, enjoyed life, and was a good teacher. He had a mindset to be very organized and was a great communicator," says Marc Langland, retired Northrim BanCorp chairman, who worked with Burns at Alaska Pacific Bank and was a personal friend.

"I loved being around him when he was speaking to a group or just giving people advice, and I felt like Alaskans were so privileged that Mike and [his wife] Rebecca decided to spend most of their lives in Alaska with us," says Mary K. Hughes, who served with him on the University of Alaska (UA) Board of Regents and UA Foundation Board of Trustees.

Financial Leadership

Burns retired from the corporation that oversees the Alaska Permanent Fund last June due to health concerns. Burns initially became head of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation in 2004 when total assets were $26 billion. He oversaw the Permanent Fund as assets rose to about $40 billion, slid back down to $26 billion in 2009 as a result of the 2008 financial crisis, and was valued at $52.8 billion at the end of fiscal year 2015 when he retired.

Burns helped diversify the corporation's assets through direct investments in private venture operations and invested in infrastructure around the world like airports, ports, and wind farms that provide a reliable return.

"The Permanent Fund attracts attention from all over the world as a model for how to turn a non-renewable natural resource into a renewable financial resource. It is an important part of Alaska's history and our state's future, and I am honored to have been given the opportunity to contribute my efforts alongside those of the Board of Trustees and our staff," Burns said in the Letter from the CEO published in the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation 2015 Annual Report.

Prior to working at the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, Burns began his career in the financial industry as president at Alaska Pacific Bank in 1985. In 1987 Alaska Pacific Bank and First National Bank of Fairbanks combined to form Key Bank of Alaska, and Burns became the president and CEO of the new bank. Burns directed the growth of Key Bank of Alaska from eight to more than twenty branches to become the third largest bank in the...