Shallow Pool

Looking at the new Executive Director of the Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS) a few more thoughts come to mind.

From the Frankfort State Journal:

Mike Burnside, the new executive director of the Kentucky Retirement Systems, plans to hit the ground running when he starts work on Jan. 3.

"I think there's going to be a steep learning curve," he told The State Journal.

Well I’ll give him this at least he's honest about being totally unqualified.

However, honesty seems to be absent in the KRS Board Chairman’s statement.

Randy Overstreet, chairman of the KRS board of trustees, said Burnside has the right experience to lead KRS. "His knowledge of the legislative process and established relationships with the legislature will be invaluable," Overstreet said. However, Burnside is an unknown quantity with local lawmakers. Rep. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort; Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway; and Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort, all said they were unable to comment on the decision to hire him. None of them could ever recall meeting or talking to Burnside.

Since the decision to hire Burnside was unanimous, (over 3 other apparently more qualified candidates), this feels like a done deal. Mark Hebert asks the valid a valid question on his blog.

It's probably a fair question to ask Burnside if his votes, or lack of votes, had anything to do with his pursuit of the Kentucky Retirement System's top job, which is expected to pay more than $200,000.

All signs point to Bill Hanes not giving up power. The relatively low $157,000 compared to Hanes $235,000, puts Burnside in the same basic salary range as Chief Operating Officer Thielan, Chief Investment Officer Tosh, Chief Benefits Officer (and close personal friend) Geri Miller, and legal counsel Eric Wampler. All four of these owe their positions and allegiance to Hanes.

Hanes will most likely officially work for Robert Klausner or some other vendor for a six figure salary and KRS will pay significantly more to that vendor in fees. With Burnside one of five top officers, it will give the appearance of new leadership, while Hanes still calls the shots behind the scenes.

KRS justified paying Hudepohl this way from their press release.

Hudepohl recommended a well-qualified pool of four candidates from the national market and we are fortunate to have hired such an experienced ‘Kentuckian’ to lead the KRS organization,” Overstreet said. Overstreet said the Board is very pleased with Hudepohl’s management of the search. “The search for a new executive director was extensive and far-reaching, receiving applications from 17 states.”

If everyone else was less qualified than Burnside then the talent level in this pool was pretty shallow.