Matthew Harris "Matt" Kisber (born January 31, 1960) is a businessman and Democratic politician in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

who served ten two-year terms in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

and was Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development during the governorship of

Phil Bredesen Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. (born November 21, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48th governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected in 20 ...

Early life and education

Kisber was born January 31, 1960 in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

, and grew up there. His grandfather, Jonas Kisber, Sr, owned and operated Kisber's Department Stores in Jackson. Matt's dad is Jonas Jr; and was prominent in the city's small

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community. Matt Kisber started working in his family's

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

when he was 12 years old. While attending

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, where he earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, he worked as a

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

for the '' Jackson Sun'' newspaper.

Tennessee House of Representatives

In the 1982 general election, Kisber defeated two-term

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent Ken Baker. Kisber would then serve ten consecutive two-year terms before leaving office voluntarily in November 2002. During his years in the state legislature, he served as chairman of the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee, as well as special joint committees of the House and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

that considered matters related to business

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...

, electricity

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

, and

workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

. He also headed a

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

committee that studied the streamlining of state

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

administration. He had several major legislative accomplishments in the area of

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

. In 1993, he was a leader in achieving the passage of a bill that established a program of

tax credit A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...

s for Tennessee companies that expand or create new jobs in the state. In 1996, he advocated successful legislative initiative to reform workers’ compensation in the state, including establishing a workers’ compensation fraud unit in the

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is the state bureau of investigation of the state of Tennessee. It has statutory authority to conduct criminal investigations and make arrests of crimes occurring throughout the state. The bureau is an ...

. In 1998, he was author and co-sponsor of a bill that established a program of employment training grants for companies that provide highly skilled and high-paying technology and manufacturing jobs. While serving as a part-time legislator, Kisber was employed by

First Tennessee Bank First Horizon Bank, formerly First Tennessee Bank, is a financial services company based in Memphis, Tennessee. As the leading subsidiary of First Horizon Corporation, it provides financial services through locations in 12 states across the South ...

, where he held the position of vice president of business development as of 2003.

Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

In January 2003, Kisber was appointed Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development by newly elected

Tennessee Governor The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee (Ten ...

Phil Bredesen. He took up this state cabinet position on January 18, 2003, and served through January 15, 2011, when Bredesen left office. In 2009, he was recognized by the National Coalition for Capital Formation as a "Champion of Small Business". That same year, ''Southern Business & Development Magazine'' included Kisber in a list of "Ten People Who Made A Difference".

Post-government career

As of 2013, Kisber is president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Silicon Ranch Corporation, a developer and operator of

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

facilities. In 2018, Kisber facilitated a deal with

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

in which the company took over the 44% minority interest previously held by

Partners Group Partners Group Holding AG is a Swiss-based global private equity firm with US$127 billion in assets under management in private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate and private debt. The firm manages a broad range of funds, struct ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kisber, Matt Living people 1960 births American bankers American energy industry executives Businesspeople from Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives People from Jackson, Tennessee State cabinet secretaries of Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni