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Governor Nathan Deal - Georgia’s 82nd Governor (2011-2019)

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Home » Press Releases » Gobeil promoted to Chief Operating Officer

Gobeil promoted to Chief Operating Officer

March 14, 2011

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that Bart Gobeil will become the state’s Chief Operating Officer on April 15. Gobeil succeeds Trey Childress, who was asked by the governor to stay on through the legislative session.

“Bart has a tremendous amount of experience in Georgia’s state government; he’s a problem-solver and a consensus-builder,” said Deal. “Bart and Trey have worked together as a team to make this handoff as easy as possible.

“Trey has served the state of Georgia well for 15 years, and I appreciate his dedication to ensuring a smooth transition. He has been of great help to me; I wish him the best luck in his new endeavor.”

The governor’s COO is responsible for the leadership and supervision of Georgia’s 50 state departments, agencies and their boards and commissions.

Gobeil currently serves as the governor’s deputy COO. Prior to joining the Deal administration, he was chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. He has also worked as director of government relations at AGL Resources, an Atlanta-based natural gas company, and as the legislative liaison and public information officer for the Georgia Public Service Commission. He also worked on the staff of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.), first as Southeast Georgia regional representative and later as a legislative assistant in the Washington office.

He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Atlanta.

Before serving on Deal’s staff, Childress was COO to former Gov. Sonny Perdue. Childress also served as director of the Governor's Office of Planning & Budget under Perdue. In these roles, Childress has provided critical financial leadership for the state during the most significant decline in state revenues since the 1930s, leading numerous reorganizations and business process reforms that improved customer service and operational efficiencies.

Childress previously served as Senior Adviser and Director of Policy for the Office of the Governor with the successful passage of signature policy initiatives in education, health care, transportation, taxation and natural resources. He began his career in public service working with the former Information Technology Policy Council, the newly formed Georgia Technology Authority and the Office of Planning & Budget.