Pub. 5 2015 Issue 3

D R ESSED UP IN HIS DESIGNER SUIT AND PREPARING FOR HIS MEETING WITH GOVERNOR DUCEY’S STAFF, STEVEN KILLIAN does not look like your typical 6th generation Arizona cattle rancher and farmer. You would never guess that he spends each weekend “working the farm,” literally baling hay and branding cattle. To say he is “well-rounded” is an understatement. Before accepting his position at The AzBA as Vice Presi- dent of Government Relations he was Governor Jan Brewer’s Senior Policy Advisor for Business and Regulatory Affairs. “…I came to work for Gover- nor Brewer at the start of the recession. She took over right after the stock market crash in 2008. She had a $3bil- lion deficit when she became governor. It was interesting and nerve racking to deal with all the tough challenges she inherited. When she left office she had a $1 billion surplus. It was an honor to work for her. It was the best opportuni- ty I’ve had so far. One thing about her, she always did what was right for the state and not necessarily what was right for her own political ambitions.” The combination of political acumen and farming expertise is in Steven’s blood. You could say he comes from a long line of astute men that have been both the successful family farmer and public policy advocate. Tracking his family history is incred- ibly interesting…but Steven is so humble I actually have to pull stories out of him. His great- great- grandfather came to Arizona with the Mormon pioneers and settled the Gila Valley where he developed their ranching and farming foundation. He married into one of the original Arizona banking families and started what is now The Arizona Bank, eventually bought by Bank of America. His great-grandfather, Ray Killian, played a crucial role in the development of the Central Arizona Project (CAP). His grandfather, Max Killian, never technically held a political office but was instrumental in writing several Arizona tax and agricultural laws. His father, Mark Killian, was in the Arizona State Legislature for 16 years. . In addition, all three of them— great grandfather, grandfather, and father— were bankers and on the board of Arizona banks. Steven was always Steven Killian Continues His Family Legacy 12 www.azbankers.org