HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC and AP) - Josh Geballe, a key player in Connecticut's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Tuesday he is leaving state service to accept a position at Yale University.
Gov. Ned Lamont enlisted Geballe from the private sector in January 2019 to serve as commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, the agency which oversees purchasing, information technology, human resources, facilities management and other business areas of state government.
Geballe also served as Lamont's chief operating officer and became a public face of the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, appearing regularly during the governor's televised COVID-19 briefings to answer reporters' questions about everything from securing personal protective equipment to distributing vaccines and test kits and reopening the state after the lockdown.
"It's been a little like a war with all the incoming over this last couple of years and if you're going to be in a foxhole, you want to be in a foxhole with Josh Geballe," Lamont said. "He was the first guy I talked to at 6:30 in the morning and the last guy I talked to at 10:30 at night."
Lamont is nominating Michelle Gilman, a state government veteran who has served as deputy chief operating officer since March 2020, to fill the position of DAS commissioner.
It's unclear whether she will also fill the role of COO. Officials with the Governor's office explained that the COO position will be evaluated over the coming weeks. Her appointment as commissioner will require legislative approval.
Before joining Lamont's administration, Geballe worked as vice president and general manager of digital science at Thermo Fisher Scientific and in multiple international executive roles at IBM.
Slated to leave state government on Feb. 14, Geballe will become Yale's new senior associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation.
The new position at Yale was "something of a dream job for me for the longer term," Geballe said. He will be working on efforts to create new business startups and jobs while also helping boost Yale's research.