Gov. Jared Polis on Monday named Ken Montera to represent the 5th Congressional District, which includes Colorado Springs, on the University of Colorado Board of Regents.

Montera, a Republican, ran for an at-large seat on the board unsuccessfully in 2018. He will replace Chance Hill, who resigned his seat last month to “pursue new professional opportunities outside the state,” the board and president said in a release announcing his departure. Hill was in the middle of a six-year term that would have expired in 2025; his replacement will serve through Nov. 8 of next year and will have a role in selecting the university’s next president.

Polis said he received 19 applications for the unpaid post and interviewed seven finalists before selecting Montera, who had been endorsed by the Republican Party’s 5th Congressional District assembly.

Polis said he was looking for “someone who would cut costs and waste and would work hard to made higher education affordable” and wanted to make the appointment quickly to give the district a representative as the search begins for CU’s new president.

Polis cited Montera’s “deep ties the community” and that he was the first in his family to attend college as some of the reasons he got the job, noting Montera received a Presidents Leadership Class scholarship to attend the University of Colorado Boulder and earn a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Leeds School of Business that “set him up for “a successful career in business” before returning to Colorado when he retired.

Montera, 64, said he plans to seek election to the seat in the next election and his most important task as regent will be to help select the system’s president. He said he also learned during his previous campaign that the cost of higher education has become too high for many in the state to afford, making attending one of the system’s campuses impossible for some Colorado residents.

Montera had a long career in marketing in executive roles with healthcare giants Johnson & Johnson, Baxter International as well as consumer brands KFC, PepsiCo, Bath & Body Works and L Brands, which later acquired Bath & Body Works. He has been a self-employed retail and management consultant since retiring in 2015 and now serves as vice chair of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic board of directors.

The job typically requires a time commitment of 10-15 hours a week, including two days set aside for board meetings and other university business. Regents are expected to visit the CU system’s four campuses and get to know staff and students.

CU Regent Chance Hill resigns post, will seek opportunities out of state

Polis on Monday also named Nick Ragain, president of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, to the Colorado Tourism Board. The 11-member panel oversees the Colorado Tourism Office, the primary tourism promotion agency for the state. Ragain spearheaded plans for the team’s 8,000-seat downtown stadium, Weidner Field, which opened in May.