Day, a certified public accountant, will bring private-sector experience to the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT). Prior to the appointment, she served as the vice president for administrative services at Landstar System Inc., a transportation services company specializing in logistics.
Beshear said in a press conference announcing his cabinet that he had sought someone with high-level managerial experience capable of coordinating thousands of independent contractors and clients.
“What I can say is throughout our transition, one of the areas that came up over and over is the Commonwealth Office of Technology,” Beshear said. “I believe that we have significant and serious problems both in the office and its provision of services to our cabinets.”
The new governor has tasked Day with rebuilding stakeholder relationships and providing a “macro-level analysis” of Kentucky’s IT position and where the state should be headed.
“I’m honored to join the Beshear-[Lt. Gov. Jacqueline] Coleman administration and I think you can tell that the [governor] has laid out a very clear and concise mission for me ..." Day said during the press conference. "I’m very excited and ready to go to work for Kentucky.”
While serving as the state attorney general, Beshear criticized Grindle's $375,000 annual salary, telling reporters that Day’s salary would be more in line with other state CIOs.
“I am excited about this executive experience, I’m excited about her experience in dealing with some of these very issues in challenging and difficult ways,” Beshear said.
