Bombs Away

I hope this is wrong but a reliable source has informed me that the new Executive Director of the Kentucky Retirement Systems will be Mike Burnside.

His bio at the time of his appointment as Secretary of the Finance Cabinet by Ernie Fletcher is below.

Mike Burnside

Mike Burnside was appointed Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet by Governor Ernie Fletcher on August 1, 2007. He had previously served as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet since December 16, 2006.

A native of Lancaster, Kentucky, Mike is a 1974 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy where he majored in general sciences and holds a master’s degree in management from Troy State University in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a veteran of 20 years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force, spending the majority of his career as a pilot and instructor in fighter, bomber and training aircraft. He is also a graduate of numerous professional military schools including Air War College; Air Command and Staff College; Army Command and General Staff College; and Armed Forces Staff College. He retired from active duty in 1994 after reaching the rank of Colonel.

Mike joined state government in June 1996 as the Executive Director of Administrative Services within the former Revenue Cabinet. He has also served as the Executive Director of the Customer Resource Center and Executive Director of Material and Procurement Services within the Finance and Administration Cabinet. Most recently he served as Undersecretary of Fiscal and Administrative Affairs for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Mike and his wife, Patti, live in Georgetown and have two sons, Steve and Scott (Jamie) and one granddaughter.

Burnside was chosen after an extensive search by recruitment consultant Hudepohl & Associates.

The company received approximately 70 resumes, although not all applicants were qualified.

Here is the advertisement Hudepohl used for a new Executive Director


Kentucky

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kentucky Retirement Systems

The Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), a $16 billion state administered retirement system, located in Frankfort, KY, is seeking an Executive Director (Director) to replace the currently retiring Director.

The Director reports to the Board of Trustees, is responsible for the strategic planning and leadership of the agency with an annual operating budget of $24 million and a team of over 240 associates. Working through five direct reports, the Director oversees all functional areas of the system. While the Director is responsible for management and oversight of KRS, the Chief Investment Officer and Internal Auditor report to the Investment and Audit Committees of the Board, respectively.

The key Director objectives are:

• Enhancing and establishing relationships with key policy makers with oversight of public pension funds
• Facilitating and leading solutions to the under funded liability facing Kentucky retirement systems

Continued improvement of investment returns

Oversight and leadership of the Strategic Technology Advancement for the Retirement of Tomorrow (START) project, a new state of the art pension administration solution

Identifying opportunities (e.g., wellness programs) to manage/contain health care costs

Minimum qualifications include a Bachelor's degree (Master's preferred), ten years of progressive relevant experience in a large complex organization and broad based knowledge of the pension fund industry. The Board is seeking candidates that have "generalist" pension fund experience - member services, investments, benefits administration, legislative affairs, health care, information technology, and human resources. Strong experience in legislative affairs is desired. The Director must be non-partisan, transparent, and an advocate in the best interest of the System. Compensation is designed to attract the best-qualified applicants from the national market, and includes a base salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. Additionally, KRS offers excellent benefits including flexible work schedules, health and life insurance, ample vacation and sick leave, holiday pay, retirement and optional deferred compensation plan. Relocation assistance will be provided.
For further information or to apply, please contact Gary Hudepohl, ghudepohl@hudepohl.com or Bonnie Scafaro, bscafaro@hudepohl.com 614 - 854-7300 / 614 - 854-7301 (fax)

Col. Burnside may be a bomber pilot but as Secretary of Finance his knowledge of pensions and investments was a total dud. Did anyone look at his resume and the qualifications for the position at the same time?

And as far as duds go, the best person Hudepohl can find in a nationwide search for a $230,000 year job is an out of work retired military bureaucrat?

What a waste of money. If Hudepohl has any professional integrity they will give the money they got for this sham back to the state.

Update 12-20-2007,5:00 pm - A second source confirmed Burnside arrive at KRS today.