03 May Robert Sprague
Ohio Treasurer
Robert Sprague became Ohio’s 49th Treasurer of State on January 14, 2019. As Treasurer, he serves as the chief investment officer for the state’s investment and debt portfolios, oversees the daily cash flows of state monies, and serves as custodian of certain funds and investment assets outside the state treasury.
Treasurer Sprague is committed to improving Ohio and the lives of its residents through trusted stewardship, wise investment, and bold innovation. These principles have been at the heart of his work since the start of his administration.
As Treasurer, Sprague successfully launched ResultsOHIO, a program that empowers policymakers and innovators to pursue pay for success projects aimed at tackling social and public health challenges facing the Buckeye State. ResultsOHIO protects taxpayer dollars by focusing on bold, new results-based ideas. Through the initiative, public dollars are only used to reimburse project costs if the project has proven to deliver verifiable results.
In the fall of 2021, Treasurer Sprague unveiled new and innovative ways to put the state’s balance sheet to work for Ohio. The Ohio Gains initiative featured a series of investment reforms that created new cost savings opportunities for Ohio-based businesses and institutions, while investing more of Ohio’s tax dollars here in Ohio. Central to the Ohio Gains proposal was an overhaul of the popular Ag-LINK program that makes reduced interest loans available to Ohio’s farming community. The new and improved Ag-LINK made an immediate impact on Ohio’s agriculture community, as 2022 set a number of new records for the decades-old program.
Sprague also oversaw the development and implementation of Family Forward, a program designed to support prospective parents navigating the adoption process. Through Family Forward, Ohioans seeking to adopt may qualify for reduced interest loans up to $50,000 that can be used to help manage the costs associated with adoption.
The STABLE Account program, which empowers individuals living with disabilities through specialized savings and investment accounts, is witnessing unprecedented growth. Under Sprague’s leadership, program participation grew from fewer than 10,000 accounts to more than 31,000 by the end of his first term in office. Additionally, the Treasurer’s office partners with multiple public and private sector employers to provide eligible employees with direct deposit options for contributing to a STABLE account.
Treasurer Sprague first entered public service in his hometown of Findlay, where he developed his commitment to strong fiscal stewardship as city auditor and treasurer. In these roles, he balanced the city’s budgets and helped finance a massive recovery effort after historic floods and the 2008 economic recession. He later made his way to Columbus, serving the 83rd District as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2011 through 2018.
During his time in the private sector, he was a project lead at Ernst & Young and worked on several high-profile engagements with Fortune 500 companies before forming his own consulting firm.
Treasurer Sprague graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and later earned a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His commitment to public service is matched only by his love of family. He and his wife, Amanda, are the proud parents of five children and continue to live in Findlay.