Governor-Elect Bill Lee Announces Transition and Inaugural Leadership

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Today, Tennessee Governor-elect Bill Lee announced several key leadership positions for his Transition Team and Inaugural Committee. The announcement comes a day after the launch of a new transition website – transition.billlee.com – which seeks to engage Tennesseans to help share ideas to help take our state from good to great.

“Now that the campaign is over, it is time to get to work,” said Lee. “I’ve said throughout the campaign that I’m looking for talented individuals who can help Tennessee thrive, and I’m honored that these individuals are dedicating themselves to helping move Tennessee to a place where we can lead the nation.”

Key personnel for Bill’s transition are working to advise Governor-elect Lee on decisions for his cabinet and senior leadership team for his incoming administration. The transition will work with Tennesseans across the state, ensuring that a wide range of opinions and regions are represented and included.

“I want to ensure that Tennesseans know that this is their government, and so, I want to hear their ideas on how we all can help Tennessee lead the nation,” Lee continued.

The Transition’s Senior Leadership Team includes:

Butch Eley – Chairman
Blake Harris – Executive Director
Chris Devaney – Deputy Director and Legislative Liaison
Laine Arnold – Press Secretary

Butch Eley most recently served as Chief Growth Officer of DBI Services, one of the nation’s leading providers of performance-driven operations and maintenance and asset management services. Prior to that, he founded Infrastructure Corporation of America in 1998 to provide comprehensive asset management solutions for infrastructure assets. Butch served on Bill Lee’s Business Advisory Coalition during his campaign.

Blake Harris is an attorney and served as General Consultant for Bill Lee’s successful gubernatorial campaign. Responsible for overall campaign strategy for the campaign, he built the campaign team that helped propel Bill to victory this year.

Chris Devaney served as Campaign Manager for Bill Lee’s gubernatorial campaign. Prior to managing the campaign, he served as Executive Director of CNP Haiti, a Christian mission organization working to prevent childhood malnutrition. He was also Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 2009 – 2015 and was a senior aide to Senator Bob Corker and former Senator Fred Thompson.

The Transition’s Press Secretary will be Laine Arnold. Previously, Arnold served in the same role for Governor-elect Lee’s General Election campaign. She also served as Press Secretary for the Randy Boyd for Governor campaign in 2017 and 2018.

On November 7, the transition unveiled a new website – transition.billlee.com. The site includes detailed information about the Governor-elect policy priorities, a section where Tennesseans can submit their resumes to potentially join his team, and most importantly, a section where Tennesseans can share their ideas with the Governor-elect and his team.

Along with announcements for his transition team, Governor-elect Lee also announced two leaders for his Inaugural Committee. The Inaugural Committee’s senior leadership team includes:

Stuart McWhorter – Chairman
Kim Kaegi – Executive Director

Like previous gubernatorial inaugurations, there will be multiple planned inaugural activities open to the public that will occur across the state heading into the swearing-in ceremony and celebration on January 19, 2019.

Stuart McWhorter served as Finance Chairman for Governor-elect Lee’s gubernatorial campaign. McWhorter serves as Chairman and President of Clayton Associates, founded in 1996, an investment management company primarily focused on the early stage investment cycle in the healthcare and technology industries.

Longtime fundraiser Kim Kaegi most recently served as a fundraising consultant for Governor-elect Lee’s General Election campaign. She has led successful fundraising efforts for multiple campaigns, including both Gov. Bill Haslam’s campaign and re-election bid, and she led Governor Haslam’s inaugural celebrations in 2011 and 2015.

More information can be found at transition.billlee.com.