Gov. Scott Walker has appointed three people to the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, but one already is coming under fire for a potential conflict of interest, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The appointees, who are subject to confirmation by the State Senate, include Norman A. Cummings of Waukesha, attorney Lon E. Roberts of Wausau, and John Petersen III of Madison.
Petersen, a previous SWIB trustee, has served as president of Inland Investment Co., Inc. for more 45 years, and he has served as vice chairman of the Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority.
During Petersen’s previous tenure as a SWIB trustee, a state auditor claimed he voted to have the board invest $80 million in a business with ties to a company in which he owned stock, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Meanwhile, Cummings, appointed as a local government member, serves as the director of administration for Waukesha County, where he is responsible for the county’s annual investment portfolio. Cummings also has worked as senior budget analyst for the Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services and as chairman of the Board of the Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Corp.
Roberts, who practices business and commercial law, was appointed as an investment board member. He has more than 30 years of legal experience and is a past recipient of a Wisconsin Super Lawyers award, having earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
If confirmed, the appointees will serve for six years.
