Greitens' office releases start date for Missouri's first chief operating officer

JEFFERSON CITY — The date is set for Missouri's first chief operating officer to begin his task of increasing state government efficiency, a spokesman for Gov. Eric Greitens said Thursday.

Press secretary Parker Briden told the News-Leader that Drew Erdmann, a government planner working for Washington D.C.-based consulting firm McKinsey & Company, would begin work Feb. 13.

Attempts to speak with Erdmann were unsuccessful. A woman who answered the phone at his Washington office referred questions to Briden.

Briden did not comment further and would not say how much Erdmann will be paid. Salary figures for employees of the governor's office are a matter of public record, but not so for Erdmann as he has not yet officially started work.

Soon after he was inaugurated, Greitens announced Erdmann's hiring at a Jefferson City steel manufacturer, saying that Erdmann would be "waking up every single day thinking about nothing but how to make government work better for you."

State agencies are reviewing their rules and regulations due to an executive order Greitens signed, and Erdmann is expected to be involved in that review.

Erdmann has worked for just over a decade at McKinsey. Previously, he worked for the State and Defense departments and also was involved in rebuilding Iraq after a U.S.-led coalition ended Saddam Hussein's reign.