Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Thursday announced Hodgen Mainda will serve in his cabinet as commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance.
“Hodgen joins my cabinet after an outstanding career as a community leader in Chattanooga,” said Governor Lee. “He is respected for his ability to build partnerships across multiple sectors and we welcome his leadership to such a multifaceted department like Commerce & Insurance.”
Commissioner Mainda currently serves as the vice president for community development at the Electric Power Board in Chattanooga which is the first provider of Gigabit internet in the country. In his role with the EPB, Commissioner Mainda built partnerships across the state and federal level and increased EPB’s role in regional economic development.
In addition to his work with EPB, Commissioner Mainda serves on several non-profit boards including the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary Club, the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor’s Roundtable and the College of Business Advisory Board. Commissioner Mainda is also a member of the Leadership Tennessee Class of 2019 and a 2018 graduate of the Harvard Business School Young American Leaders Program.
A native of Nairobi, Kenya, Commissioner Mainda, moved to Tennessee in 1997 to study at Middle Tennessee State University. He is a graduate of the University of Eastern Africa and currently resides in Chattanooga with his wife and two children.
Commissioner Mainda will begin at the Department of Commerce & Insurance on Oct. 1.