Stitt appoints three agency heads to permanent positions

GOVERNOR STITT APPOINTS THREE STATE AGENCY LEADERS TO PERMANENT POSITIONS

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 15, 2020) — Governor Kevin Stitt announced today the appointment of Carrie Slatton-Hodges as Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Dr. Lance Frye as State Commissioner of Health and Rachel Holt as Executive Director of the Office of Juvenile Affairs.

Slatton-Hodges, Frye and Holt will continue serving in interim capacities pending Senate confirmation in the 2021 legislative session.

“These leaders have provided strong visions and steady leadership for our state agencies and the people they serve while operating in their current roles,” said Gov. Stitt. “I am proud of the work they have collectively accomplished throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and I look forward to seeing how they will continue to move the needle in the health and care of our people as we work to become Top 10 in these critical categories.”

Stitt taps former Senate Pro Tem Bingman as Sec'y of State and Native American Affairs

GOVERNOR STITT NAMES BRIAN BINGMAN AS NEW SECRETARY OF STATE AND NATIVE AMERICAN AFFAIRS

Secretary of Budget Mike Mazzei announces resignation to return to private sector

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 12, 2020) – Governor Kevin Stitt announced today he has named Chief Policy Advisor Brian Bingman as Secretary of State and Native American Affairs.

Bingman, former President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, joined the Stitt Administration in August as the governor’s lead negotiator on legislative policy and will continue those duties as Secretary of State.

“Senator Bingman is a natural choice to be our next Secretary of State,” said Gov. Stitt. “It has been clear since he joined our team that he is respected by our colleagues in the Legislature and Oklahomans across the state. His wisdom, calm demeanor and understanding of the legislative process will continue to benefit our state in his new role.”

Bingman represented House District 30 from 2004 to 2006 before representing Senate District 12 from 2006 to 2016. He also served as President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate from 2011 to 2016 and Mayor of Sapulpa from 1992 to 2004. 

He was the first Republican in state history to serve three terms as Pro Tempore of the Senate. Under his leadership, landmark workers’ compensation and lawsuit reform became law, and he authored and pushed for a reduction in Oklahoma’s income tax rate.

“I am honored to be named as Secretary of State and Native American Affairs,” said Bingman. “I have had great conversations building relationships with our colleagues in the Legislature and look forward to continuing to partner with them to accomplish our shared desire of making Oklahoma a Top Ten state.”

Gov. Stitt also announced he has accepted the resignation of Secretary of Budget Mike Mazzei, effective October 23.

As Secretary of Budget, Mazzei’s primary responsibilities included coordinating the Governor’s Executive Budget Book, improving the state’s financial operations and negotiating the state budget with the Oklahoma Legislature. This spring, Mazzei added a role as one of the leaders of the CARES FORWARD team, ensuring efficient and effective distribution of the $1.26 billion in COVID-19 federal relief dollars to cities, counties, state agencies and economic relief grant recipients across Oklahoma.

“I have enjoyed serving in Governor Stitt’s administration to help make Oklahoma a Top Ten state,” said Mazzei. “I’m incredibly grateful for all the hard work and collaboration with the team of highly talented cabinet secretaries, budget staff, and agency financial officers to transform the financial operations of the state and provide more accountability and transparency. After an extraordinary season of time-consuming work, this is the right moment for me to step back and return to my financial planning company.”

Mazzei has spent a total of 14 years in state government. He was elected to represent Senate District 25 in 2004 and served the maximum of 12 years before reaching his term limit in 2016. During his time in the Senate, Mazzei served in leadership roles as Senate Finance Committee Chairman and Assistant Majority Floor Leader.

“The State of Oklahoma is a better place because of Secretary Mazzei’s service,” said Gov. Stitt. “Through 12 years in the Senate and two years as a cabinet secretary, he has fought for fiscal responsibility and prudent use of taxpayer dollars.”

John Budd, Oklahoma’s chief operating officer and Secretary of Agency Accountability echoed the governor’s sentiments.

“I have worked side-by-side with Mike Mazzei for the last two years,” said Budd. “His commitment to service to Oklahoma is unsurpassed. I am grateful for his thought partnership and I am comforted to know that I can call on him for help any time I need it.”

Gov. Stitt announces 'Governor's Dashboard of Metrics'

GOVERNOR STITT ANNOUNCES GOVERNOR'S DASHBOARD OF METRICS

OKLAHOMA CITY (July 17, 2020)- Governor Kevin Stitt announced today the launch of the Governor’s Dashboard of Metrics, providing Oklahomans with an overview of the progress being made in the State's efforts to become Top Ten in critical categories.

"Oklahoma can and should be a Top Ten State," said Gov. Stitt. "In order to ensure we are effectively pursuing this vision, we have created an easy to understand scorecard that helps our state leaders and agencies monitor how we compare on the national level and make informed decisions in order to move the needle in key areas."

Gov. Stitt taps new director of OMES

GOVERNOR STITT APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR OF OMES, FULFILLS VISION FOR FULL-TIME COO

Oklahoma City, Okla. (Jan. 22, 2020)  – Governor Kevin Stitt announced today two changes to his leadership team. John Budd, who has been serving in the dual roles of state chief operating officer (COO) and director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), will now be solely focused on his role as state COO. Steven Harpe, who currently serves as deputy director of OMES, will be promoted to director of the agency, an appointed position that requires Senate confirmation.

“John Budd was hired to be the State’s first COO, an agency-oversight role that other states have successfully implemented,” said Gov. Stitt. “When changes took place in OMES, he was generous to step into the agency and led it during a critical time while also juggling the role as Chief Operating Officer. Right out of the gate, John was able to fully eliminate a $23 million emergency supplemental request and bring more stability to the agency’s operations. As COO, John will dedicate his time to working across the cabinet and state agencies, as we originally planned.”

Steven Harpe currently serves as the deputy director of OMES. Prior to this, Harpe served as Chief Information Officer of Gateway Mortgage Group, one of the nation’s largest, independent mortgage companies. Harpe has more than 30 years of experience managing technology solutions globally for companies such as American Airlines, Sabre, HireRight, Capital One, and CGI. He has also worked on initiatives for the United States Navy and Marines requiring high level security clearances by the United States Federal Government.

“Steve Harpe is the right talent and leader to take over as director of OMES,” said COO John Budd. “Steve has world-class information technology expertise, and he’s a tremendous leader of ideas and people. I have heard nothing but positive reviews since he joined state government. I am confident he will make the right decisions to make sure OMES continues to improve the services it provides to other state agencies.”

Harpe serves on the 501 Technet Advisory Board, an organization that provides eligible nonprofit organizations in Oklahoma with high quality, donor subsidized or partner discounted technology expertise, products and services. Additionally, he serves in several technology leadership groups, such as the Oklahoma CIO's and the Tulsa CIO Forum organizations. These groups bring senior level technologists in Oklahoma together to collaborate on technology transformation and cyber security initiatives.

Harpe has been married to his wife, Jody, for 24 years and has three children. They have lived in the Broken Arrow area for 40 years.

Gov. Stitt requests audit of OMES division

GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER JOHN BUDD ANNOUNCE PLANS TO AUDIT FINANCES OF INFORMATION SERVICES DIVISION OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND ENTERPRISE SERVICES

Oklahoma City, Okla. (March 28, 2019)— Governor Kevin Stitt, in conjunction with his Chief Operating Officer John Budd, announced today that he has submitted a request to the Oklahoma Auditor and Inspector’s Office for an audit of the finances of the Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services for the period July 1, 2017 through February 28, 2019.

“We expect all state agencies to be accountable to Oklahoma taxpayers,” said Stitt. “OMES is no exception. We have every reason to believe that OMES has unmet funding needs for the Information Services Division, as noted in the agency’s supplemental budget request. At the same time, as we have spent the first two months of our administration digging into ISD’s finances, we believe that an outside-in view of the division’s budgeting, billing, accounts receivable, and accounts payable processes will help us better understand the inherited cash-flow issues and how we can make permanent improvements.”

“The agency submitted a request for roughly $23 million in supplemental funds last October,” said Budd, who also has served as OMES Director since January. “Since our new administration arrived on Inauguration Day in January, we have further examined the numbers and have reduced that request by about one-third. We are continuing to look for efficiencies. Every additional day our team spends trying to explain a situation the new administration inherited is a day we are not focused on making service better for other State Agencies and the citizens of Oklahoma. The State Auditor’s team will do an exceptional job of assessing OMES’s processes and history, and we welcome their involvement in delivering a better, more efficient state agency.”

Gov. Stitt and COO Budd have asked that the scope of the audit include the following:

• Review of processes to estimate cash in-flows and out-flows for Fiscal 2018 and Fiscal 2019, as part of budgeting process
• Performance audit of OMES ISD billing and accounts receivable processes
• Performance audit of OMES ISD accountable payable process

Stitt hires Sonic exec as State's COO, Agency Accountability Secretary

GOVERNOR-ELECT KEVIN STITT ANNOUNCES CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER HIRE

Oklahoma City, Okla. (Jan. 7, 2019) – Governor-elect Kevin Stitt announced today the hiring of John Budd as Chief Operating Officer (COO), a new role in the governor’s office that Stitt campaigned on as a position tasked with diagnosing and helping state agencies deliver efficient, customer-focused services. Stitt will also appoint Budd as the Secretary of Agency Accountability, a cabinet title that will require Senate confirmation.

“In my conversation with governors from across the nation, I heard many credit their success to the hiring of a Chief Operating Officer in their administrations, a model not currently implemented in Oklahoma. This new COO role will be key to fulfilling my campaign commitment of delivering efficient, customer-centered government throughout our 120 agencies,” said Stitt. “I am excited to welcome John Budd, a businessman who has a proven record in helping companies successfully pursue operational transformation and deliver better services. Budd will be tasked with taking a holistic look at ways to more efficiently and effectively implement services and meet today’s modern demands on state government. I appreciate his willingness to join us in serving Oklahoma as we work to build a Top Ten future.” 

John Budd was most recently the executive vice president, chief strategy and business development officer for the Oklahoma City-based national headquarters of Sonic, America’s Drive-In®. He was responsible for Sonic’s strategic near-term and long-term technology path and was a driving force behind the development of enterprise wide strategy, the franchise development function (sales, real estate and construction), supply chain, enterprise program management, and the implementation of key technology initiatives and technology support.

Budd joined Sonic in 2013 after 16 years with the Boston Consulting Group, where he served as a partner and managing director. In that role, he worked with leading companies in the energy, industrial goods, consumer goods, retail, restaurant, and education sectors to help them grow, become more efficient, and provide better customer service. Prior to his work with Boston Consulting Group, he held various domestic and international roles of increasing accountability with General Electric.

Budd earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also received his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He serves on the Board for the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation and is the incoming Chair of the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals. Budd and his wife Rebecca live in Oklahoma City with their sons Jackie and Marcus.


The following are quotes of support for the hiring of John Budd:

“We are fortunate to have John’s talent in our state. John’s extensive business experience with Sonic and Boston Consulting Group driving strategic vision and change, and his understanding of the elements of long-term sustainable progress will be valuable in moving Oklahoma forward.”
– Kathy Taylor, former Sonic board member and former Tulsa mayor

“Our new governor and his administration are fortunate to have John Budd join their team.  I have known John for roughly a decade and have enjoyed my association with him during his time with the Boston Consulting Group and, for the last five years, as a senior officer of Sonic. 

“John Budd is a very bright, very hard-working and committed professional who is able to constructively question the status quo and develop alternative paths for more effective delivery of services.  He does this in the most functional and collaborative manner.  Many companies throughout our country, including Sonic, have benefited from his skills. As a matter of fact, he had a very significant and positive impact on our company!

“John’s willingness to move to the public sector to apply his exceptional skills is a testament to his having the heart of a servant leader and will be to the benefit of this administration and our state, generally. I look forward to observing and appreciating his impact in this new arena and expect it to be considerable!”
– Cliff Hudson, former CEO of Sonic

“Governor-elect Stitt has made a great choice in appointing John Budd as chief operating officer. Working side by side with John for the past five years, I saw and experienced his strategic thinking and ability to build processes to streamline business practices. As former director of finance for the state, I wholeheartedly believe John’s knowledge and skills will benefit state government and our citizens.”
– Claudia San Pedro, President of SONIC

“John will be a great asset to Governor Stitt’s administration. He brings the right balance of big picture strategy and real-life business acumen to the table. John has served on the Memorial’s Finance Committee and our Board of Trustees for several years and he provides great oversight and strategy. Our state will now benefit from his caliber of experience and expertise, which will in the long run will help prioritize our efficiency of state government.”
– Kari Watkins, Executive Director of the OKC National Memorial & Museum