Governor Bill Haslam on Thursday announced Robert E. Oglesby as the new commissioner of the Department of General Services. Mr. Oglesby replaces Steve Cates who is departing the administration on Aug. 20, to return to his Nashville development business. Mr. Oglesby currently serves as Tennessee’s state architect.
“Bob has done a great job as our state architect, and his experience will be uniquely valuable as we continue the important work of effectively managing our assets and leveraging the state’s buying power to save taxpayer dollars,” Governor Haslam said.
The state architect serves as the chief staff officer of the State Building Commission, responsible for supervision of the state’s building and land development projects, instituting the commission’s operating procedures and promulgating its technical standards.
Before being appointed by the State Building Commission as state architect in 2011, Mr. Oglesby, a licensed Tennessee architect for more than 30 years, served as president and principal-level designer for EOA Architects in Nashville.
“This is an exciting opportunity to lead the administration’s effort to take a more holistic approach to real estate management and procurement,” Mr. Oglesby said. “My experience over the past two and a half years as state architect will be key in working to further improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of the department’s work.”
Mr. Oglesby, 55, has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he also continued his studies for an additional year in the MBA program.
He lives in Nashville with his wife, Vicki, and they have a son, Matt, in college.