Margaret Busse portrait

Margaret Busse

Executive Director, Utah Department of Commerce

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.

In her current position, she has worked to streamline the regulatory process, reduce regulatory fees, and reform behavioral health regulation to dramatically increase the behavioral health workforce needed to help address Utah’s mental health crisis. She is also leading efforts to create streamlined pathways for foreign-credentialed immigrants and refugees in Utah to obtain professional licenses, enabling them to work at their trained skill level here in Utah. Additionally, 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. Finally, in partnership with the Utah legislature, Ms. Busse created 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.

Ms. Busse serves as a commissioner of the Utah Economic Opportunity Commission and member of the Talent Ready Utah Board. In 2024, she was named a Most Influential Woman by Utah Business Magazine, was the recipient of the Cyber Pioneer Award from the Utah Bar Association, was a finalist for 2024 Utah Women in Tech award, and was awarded RevRoad’s Championing Women in Business recognition.

Ms. Busse is a Utah native, and she and her husband, Franz, have five children, ages 12 to 22. Her passion for public service began with many years of leadership roles in local government.