Melvin Burch

Mr. Burch, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, formed his consulting company Leading Edge Consultancy, LLC after his retirement from the Department of Interior, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on December 31, 2017. At OST he served as a Regional Fiduciary Trust Administrator and as a member of the Federal Government Senior Executive Service. Before joining OST in 2004, Mr. Burch worked as the Middle East Region Head and Practice Lead for Trust Services for the Lobue Group, an international consulting firm. Prior to his work with the Lobue Group, he worked 26 years as an executive in the trust banking field with the First National Bank and Trust Company of Oklahoma City, Northern Trust Company of Arizona, Liberty National Bank and Trust Company and Bank One.

Mr. Burch joined the CNI Board of Directors in January 2019, having previously served as a founding member of the Board of Directors of Bank2, a United States community bank headquartered in Oklahoma and wholly owned by the Chickasaw Nation. He is licensed to practice law in Oklahoma and the United States District Courts for the Western and Northern Districts of Oklahoma. He is also a licensed Oklahoma Real Estate Proprietary Broker. Mr. Burch was an adjunct professor at the university level for 20 years.

A native of Oklahoma, he graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He also holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the Oklahoma City University School of Law.