Former Sonic Executive Appointed to New Positions by Governor-Elect

Think of the COO as a conveyor-in-chief. Someone who relays information and streamlines government. It's a position that's growing in popularity across the country and one that often shows states mean business. In one of his first official acts, incoming

Saturday, January 12th 2019, 8:04 pm

By: Grant Hermes


Think of the COO as a conveyor-in-chief. Someone who relays information and streamlines government. It's a position that's growing in popularity across the country and one that often shows states mean business.

In one of his first official acts, incoming governor Kevin Stitt created two new positions in state government: Chief Operating Officer and Secretary of Agency Accountability. Stitt appointed former Sonic Exec John Budd to both jobs. 

In a release, Stitt says Budd will be taking "a holistic look" at government "to meet today's modern demands." 

But what does that actually mean?

"I want to make sure we're only doing something one time across the state," said Greg Adams, the COO of Tennessee.

Greg Adams has been COO of Tennessee since 20-13. He says his day is spent making sure things run smoothly between the governor and his departments and between departments and the people who use their services, which Adams thinks of as customers.

"I get into all these gnarly things like performance management, IT management," said Adams. "Customer satisfaction management. Citizen management. All those kind of gnarly things."

Oklahoma and Tennessee are just two of nearly a dozen states to have this new kind of position. Most states say they've seen savings from streamlining government. 
 
The two jobs in Oklahoma are so new there's no listed salary for either and it's unclear if Budd will be able to draw a salary from both positions or if he'll have to work one job for free. What is clear is even before taking office, Kevin Stitt appears to be making a statement that under him the State of Oklahoma will look a little more like Oklahoma Incorporated. 

The governor is allowed to pick his inner circle like the COO without approval, but for Budd to become Secretary of Accountability, he will have to be confirmed by the Senate when session starts next month. 
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