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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowRepublican Mike Braun entered the Governor’s Office in January with a vision of remaking state government into a more business-savvy organization, prioritizing the efficient use of taxpayer dollars and corralling what he has described as overspending.
His first step was to reorganize the state’s more than 60 agencies, departments, offices, boards and other entities into nine policy verticals that would be led by cabinet secretaries and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith overseeing a slew of department heads.
The secretary positions—many of which are new—pay $275,000 each. Three of the secretaries also lead an agency or department in their vertical.
Braun picked leaders with both business and government experience, much of it from former Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration.
In fact, several of Holcomb’s department heads transitioned to the Braun administration, including State Health Commissioner Lindsay Weaver, Higher Education Commissioner Chris Lowery and Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Richard Paulk. Secretary of Education Katie Jenner also continued under Braun and gained an expanded role.
Other leaders returned to state government to work for a different department. For example, Adam Krupp, director of the Department of Child Services, served as commissioner of the Department of Revenue from 2017-2020. Joe Hoage, now executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, is a former commissioner for both the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Braun’s appointments also include a roster of former state lawmakers, including former Rep. Mike Speedy, whom the governor appointed to serve as secretary of business affairs, and former Rep. Matthew Ubelhor, who is secretary of transportation and infrastructure. Former Sen. Jon Ford and former Reps. Lloyd Arnold and Alan Morrison are now running agencies in the Braun administration.
Other department heads came to the Braun administration from the private sector—and a few worked their way up through state government before landing a top job.
A couple of leaders are working in state government for the first time. That includes Gloria Sachdev, the state’s health and family services secretary, who was formerly a nonprofit leader, professor and health care consultant.•
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