SANTA FE — Gov.-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday announced the leadership and organizational structure of her Governor’s Office.

“This is a new way of doing business, and a better way,” Gov.-elect Lujan Grisham said. “We are working within the current budget for the office to create a dramatically new dynamic where highly talented people are put to their best use in developing and executing our goals and our vision.”

The governor-elect named John Bingaman her chief of staff and Teresa Casados her chief operating officer, co-equal top staff who will split management and supervision of different branches of the office. Both report directly to the governor-elect.

 Bingaman will oversee the development of policy and legislation, supervising policy advisors and directors, the legislative team, communications and legal operations within the office.

 Casados will oversee the implementation of policy and legislation, liaising with cabinet secretaries, cabinet affairs, various issue-specific czars and constituent services.

 “I’m honored and thrilled the governor-elect has chosen me to help fulfill her vision of an open, accessible, customer-focused, responsive and accountable state government,” Bingaman said. “People are coming forward across this state and stepping into public service roles, filled with energy and enthusiasm, to help move New Mexico forward. I stand ready to work with these talented individuals to give the governor-elect everything she needs in creating a thriving New Mexico.”

 “I’m excited to see the governor-elect’s framework for this office in action,” Casados said. “Under her leadership, we will have the right people in the right places, and the result will be a streamlined, steady and productive environment where her vision comes to fruition.”

 John Bingaman is the managing principal of Iron Creek Partners LLC, a private investment partnership based in Santa Fe. Bingaman serves as board chairman for Iron Creek’s two portfolio companies, both in the software industry. Bingaman served as executive chairman of SambaSafety, a homegrown Albuquerque company and the leading provider of driver risk management software in North America, from 2011 through 2016. Under Bingaman’s leadership, SambaSafety grew significantly, and he helped shepherd SambaSafety through its successful sale to a third-party investor group in 2016.    

Prior to founding Iron Creek’s predecessor entity in 2009, Bingaman was an investment professional with Quadrangle Group LLC, a private investment firm based in New York City, where he was involved in numerous transactions in various sectors of media, communications and business services. Prior to joining Quadrangle, he was with Salomon Smith Barney, in the investment banking division.

Bingaman earned a bachelor of arts magna cum laude in economics from Harvard College. He resides with his family in Santa Fe. Bingaman is actively involved in the community, having served as the board vice chair and as a board director for Santa Fe-based non-profit organizations NDI New Mexico and El Rancho de las Golondrinas, respectively.

Teresa Casados is the director of senior services at Santa Fe County. An experienced manager and leader with a diverse background at different levels of government, in her current role Casados manages the day-to-day operations of the county’s senior and community centers, develops program goals and performance criteria and oversees working relationships with providers and outside organizations, among other duties. Casados previously served as director of operations at the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, where she implemented an organizational restructuring and increased the efficiency of support services. She was executive administrator of the Burrell Group, where she managed office operations to ensure productivity across different start-up companies like Burrell Western Resources and the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine.

 Across her career in state government, she served as deputy secretary of the Department of Workforce Solutions, responsible for the workforce services bureau, labor relations division, business services division, and economic research and analysis bureau, and she was also deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Bill Richardson from 2008 to 2009. Other roles in the office of the governor included director of operation and human resources; director of personnel; and executive assistant to the chief of staff. Casados earned a degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.