Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has named Jim Henry, current commissioner of the Department of Children's Services, as his new chief of staff.
"I am honored to serve the administration in this new capacity and look forward to working in the governor's office," Henry said. "I'll miss working every day with the dedicated and hardworking employees at DCS but know that they will continue to do great work for the state."
Henry, 70, first served in the Haslam administration as the first commissioner of the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
He was asked to serve as commissioner of DCS in 2013 following the resignation of Kate O'Day after newspaper investigations uncovered failures by the agency to report and track children's deaths.
O'Day resigned the day before she was scheduled to testify before legislators who was investigating about 150 child deaths, including nine unreported deaths that prompted agency lawyers to say they did not know how many children died in state custody, according to the Commercial Appeal newspaper.
Associated Press file photoTennessee Department of Children's Services Commissioner Jim Henry speaks at a 2013 news conference.The agency received some praise for increased transparency and better record-keeping under Henry.
Before joining the Haslam administration, Henry served as president and CEO of Omni Visions. He is a Vietnam veteran, former mayor of Kingston, Tenn., and served for 12 years as a state representative.
The appointments are effective Aug. 1.
Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said Henry is a "great guy and a good choice."
"The chief of staff's job is one that can make or break a governor," Norris said in a news release.
Norris, who said he has known Henry for many years, said that Haslam's new chief of staff "respects the separation of powers but knows how to help close the gaps if need be. He may add a missing element or two. That's important."
In a news release, Haslam also announced promotions for Leslie Hafner, Will Cromer and Warren Wells. Hafner will become the senior advisor to the governor, Cromer will become twe special assistant to the governor for strategy and Wells will become the new director for legislation.