Employers Council names Kim Koy as president and CEO

Employers Council, a B2B human resource and employment law company, announced this week that long-time President and CEO Michael Severns plans to retire, effective March 31. Kim Koy, the organization’s current chief operating officer will succeed Severns. Koy will begin her new role on April 1.

“Kim is the perfect choice to lead our exceptional team of professionals in continuing to provide high quality services to our members,” Severns says. “Over the past 20 years, she’s proven her leadership skills and under her direction, I know Employers Council will undoubtedly continue, and surpass, the success we have experienced in the past and continue to meet the needs of our members.”

Severns has served Employers Council for half of its more than 80-year history and is the company’s fifth president and CEO. Severns began his career with Employers Council as an attorney in the Labor Relations Department in 1979 after earning his bachelor’s degree, then Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado He assumed the role of president and CEO in 2002 and since then, has overseen the organization’s expansion into northern Colorado, Arizona and Utah and more than doubled the number of member organizations served. Under his leadership, the company merged with Utah-based Employers Council in 2015 and rebranded from Mountain States Employers Council to Employers Council in 2017. 

“Mike's leadership has paved a clear path for us to grow as a regional employers association and continue serving members with the evolving challenges they face,” Koy says. “This change is the result of years of succession planning and implementation and I look forward to building on Mike’s hard work to ensure we continue to honor our strong history and the vision of our past leaders.”

Koy brings nearly 20 years of experience with Employers Council to her new role. As chief operating officer, she’s responsible for the organization’s day-to-day operations and oversees the company’s six offices. She served as vice president from 2014 to 2018, overseeing all membership services and expanding the company’s offerings to Colorado’s Western Slope. From 2005 to 2014, Koy served as director and managed the Colorado Springs office.

Throughout her career with Employers Council, she has implemented key changes that reduced the organization’s operating expenses while increasing overall revenue, restructured the marketing and sales departments to refocus efforts on member service and retention, and managed the development of three regional offices from the leasing process through the buildings’ finishing details.

Prior to joining Employers Council, Koy worked in employment and insurance defense and completed a clerkship with Denver District Court. An active member of the business community, she is a board member with the Colorado Judicial Institute and the Griffith Centers for Children. Koy holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver.

In addition to this leadership change, the company’s current Executive Vice President Deborah Brackney retired from Employers Council on Feb. 28. Brackney joined Employers Council in 1988 and has held several positions during her tenure, including trainer, consultant, director and currently vice president, where she oversees five departments including organizational development and learning, human resource services, outsourced consulting services and surveys. In retirement, Brackney will continue to serve on several nonprofit boards including Global Dental Relief, the Colorado Nonprofit Association and the New America Schools. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado.

About Employers Council

Founded in 1939, Employers Council partners with more than 4,500 employers, of all sizes and industries, to help them build and maintain profitable organizations on a cost-effective, membership basis. Members work with over 80 human resource, organizational development and survey professionals, plus more than 60 employment-law attorneys. The company has offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Loveland, Grand Junction, Scottsdale and Salt Lake City. Employers Council provides services to members facing everyday employment law, human resource and management challenges of operating a business, and trains more than 25,000 member employees annually while offering unsurpassed HR data for use in strategic planning.