Gov. Glenn Youngkin filled vacancies in three high-level positions in state government on Friday, including the Department of Taxation and the Virginia Lottery.
Youngkin named James Alex, an executive at a global accounting firm, as tax commissioner to succeed Craig Burns, who retired last month after serving in the job for more than 13 years under three governors.
Alex, who helped the administration of then-President Donald Trump with the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, served as a partner and principal at RMS LLP, a Chicago-based accounting and tax consulting company with offices across the world. He has a law degree from the University of Virginia, as well as two master’s of law degrees from Georgetown University.
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The governor also appointed Khalid Jones, an investment entrepreneur and securities litigator, to lead the Lottery, a semi-independent agency that generates revenue for public education in the state budget. Jones, who has also served as a consultant to lottery systems across the country, replaces Kelly Gee, who now serves as secretary of the commonwealth.
Finally, Youngkin named Robert Ward as chief transformation officer, replacing Eric Moeller, who resigned earlier this year after two years in a job that the governor created to improve operations of state agencies, including the Virginia Employment Commission, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.
Ward, a former executive with an international shipping company, has been serving as an adviser to Youngkin on real estate, including the $2 billion sports and entertainment complex that the governor proposed in Alexandria and a review of state-owned and leased buildings in downtown Richmond.
Longtime Richmond business leader Bob Sledd had appeared to be in line to become chief transformation officer after the governor appointed him as a senior adviser earlier this year, but he left the full-time position a month later and said he would serve as an informal adviser.
“It’s remarkable to welcome such distinguished professionals to our team who are committed to enacting meaningful and lasting change across the commonwealth,” Youngkin said in an announcement on Friday. “Their experience and expertise will help us build on the progress we’ve made in our first two years and continue to better serve Virginians.”
The appointments announced Friday did not include a new CEO at ABC or a director of the Department of General Services. The authority has been operating under interim-CEO Tom Kirby since Travis Hill resigned in November. Youngkin and the General Assembly are battling over the independence of ABC, which transitioned from being an executive branch agency to a semi-independent authority in 2018.
The governor and legislature are also fighting over the independence of the general services agency, which performs a wide range of crucial state functions, from laboratory testing to managing state real estate and construction projects. Longtime director Joe Damico retired last fall, but then took a job with the city of Richmond to oversee the potential creation of a general services department for the city.