Haslam Appoints First Chief Procurement Officer for the State

Jessica Robertson Expected to Start in New Position July 1

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced the appointment of Jessica Robertson as the state’s first Chief Procurement Officer today. 

Robertson most recently served as Deputy Commissioner for the Indiana Department of Administration managing the operations for the state’s procurement division. In this position, Robertson set policy for procurement and negotiated multi-million dollar contracts.  Robertson graduated from Indiana State University with a bachelor of science in finance. 

After an internship at the Lincoln Financial Group in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Robertson began her public service as a governor’s fellow.  Robertson has also served as the senior account manager for the Family and Social Service Administration and the Department of Child Services and Director of Strategic Sourcing for the Indiana Department of Administration.

Tennessee Public Act 1098 of 2010 created a Tennessee state procurement commission, a procurement office, a chief procurement officer, a state protest committee and an advisory committee on procurement. 

The Act consolidates all procurement responsibility and allows negotiations and decisions to be handled by the procurement commission, procurement office and chief procurement officer.  The procurement office will be managed by the Tennessee Department of General Services.

“As we continue to work toward effective and efficient ways to process state contracts, we believe Jessica’s track record proves her financial savvy and commitment to public service.  We are happy to welcome her to the team and we believe she will pave a solid foundation as the state’s first chief procurement officer,” Haslam said. 

Robertson will begin as chief procurement officer on July 1.  She will relocate to Tennessee along with her husband Matt Benell and their one year old son Easton.

“Transforming the way Tennessee negotiates contracts will be an exciting new chapter for me,” Robertson said.  “I look forward to making Tennessee my new home while working to make a difference for the state’s stakeholders.”