Matt Bevin

Founded in 1832 by Bevin's great-great-great-grandfather and remaining in the family continuously since, Bevin Bros. is the last American company that exclusively manufactures bells.

He was assigned to the 25th Field Artillery Regiment of the Army's 5th Mechanized Infantry Division at Fort Polk in Louisiana.

During his assignment, he also trained at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, completing 40 credit hours of Central Michigan University coursework offered on base.

Matthew Griswold Bevin (born January 9, 1967) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Kentucky from 2015 to 2019 and was the third Republican elected to that office since World War II, after Ernie Fletcher (2003–2007) and Louie Nunn (1967–1971).

He is currently the CEO of Neuronetrix Solutions, LLC.

Born January 9, 1967, in Denver, Colorado, Matt Bevin was the second of six children born to Avery and Louise Bevin.

He grew up in the rural town of Shelburne, New Hampshire, in a small farmhouse heated by wood-fired stoves.

His father worked at a wood mill, and his mother worked part-time in a hospital admissions department.

The family raised livestock and grew much of their own food.

At age six, Bevin made money by packaging and selling seeds to his neighbors.

He credits his involvement in 4-H, where he served as president of the local and county chapters and as a member of the state teen council, with developing his public speaking and leadership skills.

He was also involved with the county's Dairy Club.

Initially attending a small Christian school, in tenth grade Bevin enrolled as a student at Gould Academy, a private high school across the state line in Bethel, Maine.

He paid his tuition through a combination of financial aid and wages from an on-campus dishwashing job and various summer jobs.

After graduation, he attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, on a partial ROTC scholarship.

During his matriculation, he studied Abroad in Japan and became fluent in Japanese.

Born in Denver, Colorado, and raised in Shelburne, New Hampshire, Bevin earned a bachelor's degree at Washington and Lee University in 1989, then served four years of active duty in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies in 1989.

After taking eight weeks off to complete a 3800 mi bicycle ride from Oregon to Florida, Bevin enlisted in the United States Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.

In 1990, he completed a six-week Junior Officer Maintenance Course at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

He later commented that the area reminded him of where he grew up, and that if he had a chance to raise a family there, he would like to do so.

He rose to the rank of captain – earning the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, and Army Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster – before joining the Army Reserve in 1993.

After leaving active duty in 1993, Bevin worked as a financial consultant for SEI Investments Company in Pennsylvania and Boston, then served as a vice president with Putnam Investments.

He became wealthy in the investment business and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1999.

He was president of Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company, one of the last remaining American bell foundries.

In 1999, he was offered a stake in National Asset Management and moved to Kentucky to take the job.

He left the Individual Ready Reserve in 2003.

After the firm was sold in 2003, Bevin recruited a group of managers from National City Corp. to found Integrity Asset Management.

In 2008, Bevin took over management of the struggling Bevin Brothers Manufacturing Company of East Hampton, Connecticut.

The company was handling more than $1 billion in investments when Bevin sold it to Munder Capital Management of Michigan in 2011.

In 2013, Bevin announced he would challenge Kentucky's senior U.S. Senator, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in the 2014 Republican primary.

Although Bevin gained the support of various groups aligned with the Tea Party Movement, McConnell attacked him repeatedly for inconsistencies in his public statements and policy positions and defeated him by almost 25 percentage points.

After announcing he would seek the governorship in 2015, Bevin emerged from a four-way Republican primary, besting his nearest competitor by 83 votes.

He then defeated the state's attorney general, Democratic nominee Jack Conway, in the general election.

Bevin's gubernatorial tenure was notable for the passage of "right-to-work" legislation, laws limiting abortion access, and a law allowing carrying concealed handguns without permits.

He also attempted to reverse Kentucky's Medicaid expansion and to reduce teacher pensions.

Bevin lost his re-election campaign to Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear in a close race.

After requesting a recanvass—an additional check of vote totals at the county level—Bevin conceded the election on November 14, 2019.

Bevin was widely criticized for pardoning hundreds of criminals in his last days in office, including several people convicted of serious violent crimes and a convicted child rapist whose relatives donated $4,000 to Bevin's campaign from a fundraiser to free him.

On December 23, 2019, it was reported that the FBI had questioned state representative Chris Harris about Bevin's pardons and on January 2, 2020, Attorney General Daniel Cameron asked the FBI to investigate the pardons.