John Mutz
Chairman of the Board
John M. Mutz, a consultant and private investor, is a seasoned executive with more than 45 years experience in the fields of politics, philanthropy and business. He is currently the chairman of Lumina Foundation for Education, a billion dollar private, charitable foundation dedicated to expanding access to higher education, and has served as:
- Two-term lieutenant governor of Indiana (1981-89)
- President of Lilly Endowment, Inc., one of the five largest private foundations in America (1989-1993)
- President of PSI Energy, Indiana’s largest electric utility (1993-1999)
- Chairman of the City of Indianapolis Department of Waterworks (2002)
- Indiana State Senator (1971-80)
- Indiana State Representative (1967-70)
Before joining the Endowment, Mutz built a sizeable record of community service as a public official, having served two terms as Indiana’s lieutenant governor (1981-89). While in office, he was president of the Indiana Senate, led the Department of Commerce and the Department of Employment and Training Services, in addition to serving as Commissioner of Agriculture. As lieutenant governor, Mutz initiated an agenda of job creation, training and placement. Under his guidance, Indiana dramatically altered its investment in economic development, which resulted in the state taking the lead in job creation among the Great Lakes states.
Prior to serving as lieutenant governor, Mutz was a member of the Indiana General Assembly for 13 years. A state senator from 1971 to 1980, he served as chairman of the state budget committee from 1977 to 1978. He served as state representative from 1967 to 1970. Among a variety of accomplishments, he helped write the Unigov legislation, which created unified government in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
Mutz is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal and the author of the recently published Fundraising for Dummies.
In addition to more than two decades in public life, Mutz has been a successful entrepreneur and manager. His successes include the development of 31 Burger Chef restaurants and the formation of equipment lessor, Circle Leasing Corp., which was ultimately sold to Xerox Credit Corporation.
Mutz is a director of Salin Bank and Trust Company and chairman of Lumina Foundation for Education. He is a member of the advisory boards of CID Equity Partners (Indiana’s largest venture capital firm) and Langham Transport. In addition, he serves on the Board of Managers of Ontario Systems, Inc., (the largest provider of accounts receivable software in America). His community service directorships include the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority, the Indiana and Indianapolis chambers of commerce, Indianapolis Zoological Society, Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the United Way of Central Indiana, as well as other civic boards.
Mutz formerly served as a trustee of Hudson Institute, as well as a director of five public corporations: ADESA Corporation, Conseco, Inc., CCP Insurance Co. (a subsidiary of Conseco), National City Bank Indiana and PSI Resources. He also is a former director of Security Group, Inc., Senex Financial Corp. and Walker Information and has served as national chairman for Ways to Work, a program to help former welfare recipients stay off welfare. Long active in school reform, Mutz has been a director of the 21st Century Charter School Program, the first charter school designated in the state of Indiana, and serves as co-chairman of All Children Matter Indiana, a leader in the advocacy of choice in education.
Mutz earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in advertising and business management from Northwestern University. He and his wife, the former Carolyn Hawthorne, are parents of two grown children, Diana and Mark, and have five grandchildren.
In alphabetical order, Mutz’s speech topics include:
- A Reform Agenda for Private and Public Corporate Boards
- Corporate Stewardship and Philanthropy
- Deregulation of the Electric Utility Industry
- Economic Development and Commerce
- Education Reform, Kindergarten through High School and Higher Education
- Entrepreneurship
- Metropolitan Government
Board