Margaret Busse

Margaret Woolley Busse was appointed by Governor Spencer Cox in January 2021 to serve as a member of his cabinet as the Executive Director of Utah’s Department of Commerce, Utah’s chief business regulatory agency. With an MBA from Harvard University and degrees in public policy and economics from Brigham Young University, Ms. Busse brings a wealth of experience in public service, social impact, and strategy consulting to her role.

Ms. Busse is passionate about bringing trust back to technology, as it is crucial for Utah’s economy to thrive. Under her leadership with direction from Governor Cox, the Department of Commerce has played a key role in holding social media platforms accountable for their harm to minors by helping to craft appropriate legislative measures and by filing lawsuits against TikTok and Meta. In the emerging field of artificial intelligence, Ms. Busse, in partnership with the Utah legislature, has driven forward an innovative approach to AI, which includes the creation of the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy, which is tasked with both providing regulatory relief to qualifying AI-focused companies and making regulatory policy recommendations through its policy learning lab. This new office will enable Utah to encourage innovation, protect the public, and proactively observe and learn when it comes to the substantial new powers of AI.

Additionally, Ms. Busse has worked to streamline the regulatory process, reduce regulatory fees, and reform behavioral health regulation in order to dramatically increase the behavioral health workforce needed to help address Utah’s mental health crisis. Finally, she is leading efforts to create streamlined pathways for Utah-based foreign-credentialed immigrants and refugees to obtain professional licenses, enabling them to work at their trained skill level here in Utah. Ms. Busse is a Utah native and with her husband, Franz, has five children, ages 11 to 21. Her passion for public service began with many years of leadership roles in local government.