After a year leading the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Commissioner Hodgen Mainda will leave the department next month.
Mainda will return to work in the private sector in Chattanooga. Before being appointed commissioner by Gov. Bill Lee last October, Mainda was vice president of community development at the Electric Power Board in Chattanooga – the first public provider of gigabit Internet in the country.
“I have an opportunity to transition to the private sector and at the same time, spend more time with my young family,” Mainda wrote in his resignation letter. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in your cabinet.”
Lee accepted Mainda’s resignation. His last day at the department will be Nov. 13.
During his year as commissioner, Mainda led the department through response to devastating tornadoes that left thousands of Tennesseans with damage to their homes. He also served as chairperson of the Governor’s Law Enforcement Reform Task Force, which raised Tennessee’s policing standards.
Mainda moved to Tennessee in 1997 from Nairobi, Kenya, to attend Middle Tennessee State University.
The governor’s office said Tuesday that Mainda’s resignation was unrelated to the departure of Tennessee Department of Human Services Commissioner Danielle Barnes, who also resigned Tuesday.
Lee has not announced a replacement to lead the Commerce and Insurance Department.
