Youngkin announces multiple Cabinet, staff appointments

Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin announced Monday and Tuesday a series of staff and Cabinet appointments, including state secretary of veterans and defense affairs and his chief of staff.

Youngkin named Craig Crenshaw as secretary of veterans and defense affairs and Daniel Gade as commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services.

“Craig and Dan share my vision for making Virginia the best place for our military heroes to pursue the next chapter of their lives. They are dedicated to caring for our veterans, championing their concerns, connecting them with resources, getting them the proper care and reducing barriers on their capital and employment opportunities,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Crenshaw currently serves as the president of Stafford County-based Claxton Logistics Services LLC. He retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a major general. He served as the corps’ senior executive of logistics and supply chain management, and prior to that, as the director of manpower management. Crenshaw also served as the commanding general and the director of logistics plans and policies. He also was the vice director for logistics at the Joint Chiefs of Staffs.

Crenshaw holds a bachelor’s in political science from Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rouge. He holds a master’s degree from Webster University and one from the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy.

Gade is currently a professor at American University. He retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in 2017. While serving in Iraq in 2005, he sustained severe injuries that led to the amputation of his right leg. He co-founded The Independence Project to help veterans after his retirement from the army.

For the last six years of his service, Gade worked at the White House and taught at West Point. In his most recent role, Gade was a senior adviser to the secretary of labor in the Veterans Employment and Training Service.

Gade holds a bachelor’s degree from West Point and master’s of public administration and doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia.

Youngkin named Jeff Goettman as chief of staff, Rebecca Glover as deputy chief of staff and communications director and Eric Moeller as chief transformation officer. Richard Cullen will be counselor to the governor.

“I am excited to welcome this group of leaders with a record of experience and serving others. These qualified individuals with various backgrounds bring vast experience that ensure we will deliver on our … promises … in making Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Goettman was chief operating officer and policy director for the Youngkin campaign and served as the transition director post-election.

In June 2017, he was appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Starting in September 2019, he also served as the counselor for domestic finance in the U.S. Treasury Department.

Goettman founded CameronBlue Capital to invest in small and mid-sized businesses and was a managing member at Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm Thayer Capital Partners. He also provided merger and acquisition and financing advisory services with Morgan Stanley, Wasserstein Perella and Robertson Stephens.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and an MBA from the Stanford School of Business.

Glover was director of the Brunswick Group for the past two years, where she strategized media relations campaigns. Before joining the Brunswick Group, she led the U.S. Commerce Department’s communications team. She also was communications director for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and assisted his 2016 campaign. She previously led communications for the House Oversight Committee.

Glover holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

Moeller is currently a partner at McKinsey & Co., where he is a leader in the Reset. Transform. Sustain (RTS) unit serving companies seeking performance and organizational health improvements.

He has served as CEO of a small food manufacturer, trustee of AGE Refining, vice president of Valero Energy Corp. and partner at the Boston Consulting Group.

Moeller holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Harvard Business School.