Sec. Gaunch announces promotion of Mike Graney to Deputy Secretary of West Virginia Department of Commerce

Mitch Carmichael has assumed the role of Executive Director of the West Virginia Development Office

CHARLESTON, WV – Commerce Secretary Ed Gaunch announced today that he has promoted Mike Graney to the role of Deputy Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Commerce.

Graney had served as Executive Director of the West Virginia Development Office since September 2018. The Development Office operates under the Department of Commerce.

“Mike has been an invaluable asset to our entire team at Commerce and, after consulting with Governor Justice about his vision for the agency’s future, we all decided that Mike was the person we needed in this critical position moving forward,” Sec. Gaunch said.

“This is a flat-out exciting time to be in West Virginia. We have businesses and people moving in that are bringing along all kinds of economic opportunity and goodness,” Gov. Justice said. “Mike and Secretary Gaunch are outstanding representatives of our state and the job announcements we’ve had in the past 24 months speak volumes about the culture they’ve created. I’m confident they will continue to provide the bold leadership and vision we need to keep maximizing our efforts in the Department of Commerce.”

In his new role, Graney will continue to work across all divisions of Commerce to support and grow jobs and investments in West Virginia.

Sec. Gaunch also announced that former West Virginia State Senate President Mitch Carmichael has assumed the role of Executive Director of the West Virginia Development Office.