Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday announced new leadership at the top for the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), which has been without a permanent director the past six months.
GO-Biz chief deputy director Panorea Avdis has been elevated to the director position after serving in an acting capacity the past several months. According to the governor’s office, Avdis was chief of staff for Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna from 2010 to 2012, director of external affairs at the California Department of Housing and Community Development from 2007 to 2010 and a project manager at AKT Development Corp. from 2004 to 2007. Aykis also was a special assistant for former Gov. Gray Davis.
Will Koch is now chief deputy director at GO-Biz. Koch previously was deputy director of the California Competes Tax Credit Program since 2014 and was deputy director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs from 2012 to 2014. Koch served in several positions at the California Franchise Tax Board from 1998 to 2012.
Neither position requires confirmation by the state Senate; Avdis and Koch are Democrats.
The office’s first-ever director, Kish Rajan, departed in May. Rajan is now an adviser for the Edelman public relations firm in Sacramento, chief evangelist for CALinnovates and president of the Southern California Leadership Council.
Brown created GO-Biz in 2012. The office manages a statewide network of “innovation hubs,” among other projects.
