Skip Header
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Panelist Biography

Guest Speaker Biography - Thomas S. Leavitt

Last Updated: February 22, 2011


Tom Leavitt is Executive Vice President – Community Banking for Merchants Bank in Burlington, Vermont.  Merchants Bank, established 1849, is a subsidiary of Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (MBVT), a single-bank holding company.  The bank has assets of $1.5 billion and operates 34 full service offices throughout Vermont.

Leavitt has been a member of Merchants’ senior management team since February 1996, taking on his current role in November 2006.  His prior assignments include serving as Chairman – Merchants Trust Company, Senior Vice President – Retail Banking, and Division Manager – Sales, Corporate Banking, and Branch System.  He has served for 15 years as Chairman of the Merchants Bank Foundation.

Leavitt’s other career assignments include: President of SafetyMaster Corporation, a major Western U.S. safety equipment distribution and technical services firm formerly based in Billings, Montana (division of Strategic Distribution, Inc. - STRD); General Manager – Central and Western U.S. for Bowman Distribution (division of Barnes Group, Inc. – B); and Senior Director - Sales for Curtis Industries, the automotive and industrial distribution division of Congoleum Corporation.

Leavitt serves on the boards of the Burlington Business Association, the Vermont Council on Rural Development, and the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College.  He has been active in numerous community groups and initiatives.

Leavitt earned an MBA in Corporate Finance and Marketing from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1982.  He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1980 with a BS in Business, minoring in Political Science.  He was starting quarterback and punter for the Division I-AA UNH Wildcats football team. 

Leavitt is married to Burlington High School math teacher Diane Leavitt (University of Vermont BS, MEd).  The couple resides in Burlington.  They have two sons: Joseph, USNA ’08, LTJG aboard the USS Dallas submarine; and John, completing certification in the Airframe & Powerplant program at Burlington Aviation Technology Center.