Thursday, August 06, 2009
New DGIF hire will tackle the business side of the agency
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
Matt Koch
There is a new No. 2 man at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. His name is Matt Koch.
First off, let’s get his last name right. It is pronounced “Cook.”
Koch, who is 45, fills the agency’s newly crated position of chief operating officer. Unlike most new hires at DGIF, his background isn’t natural resources. It is business.
His new job is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the agency. But you would be making a huge mistake to think he’s some kind of mild-mannered officer manager.
Koch comes with a knock-out résumé and unbridled enthusiasm. He has the plans, know-how and authority to change how things are done inside the agency and is dedicated to improving productivity. Division directors, including fish, wildlife and law enforcement, will report directly to him.
Most resource agencies are more adapt at managing wildlife than human resources; thus, Koch should be a breath of fresh air when it comes to carrying operations beyond Business 101.
“I am focusing on business,” Koch said. “I won’t be making policy. I won’t be a biological expert in any field. I am just going to help the business run smoothly and efficiently.”
That will free Bob Duncan, DGIF executive director since February 2008, to spend more time in the field doing what he does so well, which is working with constituents and mending fences in the wake of several troublesome years for the agency.
The DGIF board recognized this need, and so did an independent management study, but in order to free Duncan to spend more time outside the office he needed someone to take care of business inside the office.
“We have well credentialed biologists, law enforcement and other personnel, but we needed more expertise in organizational processes and management,” said Duncan. “Matt brings those strengths to the agency. They line up perfectly with the needs of the agency.”
Duncan called Koch “an outstanding person.”
Koch has degrees from Duke and Harvard. He was a Navy pilot with three deployments to the Persian Gulf. He was director of Human Resources Operations for Capital One. He founded his own company, designing it to help businesses accelerate their work, thus giving employees more time to think and be innovative. He was picked by DGIF from more than 150 applicants, and was the unanimous choice of the interview panel.
Why sign on with a state resource agency?
“Why wouldn’t I come here?” he asks. “I love challenges. I never want an easy job -- that would be boring. I want to work with smart people. Dare I say brilliant people? I like academic settings. I like thinking about things. I like good sound logic around decisions. Then I love delivering results. I want to become a beacon of operation excellence.”
Koch said he isn’t a hunter, but his family enjoys boating, fishing, hiking and camping. He and his wife, Kandi, have four sons, ages 4 to 13.
During an interview, Koch frequently called constituents of the DGIF “customers” and mentioned the need for improving customer service, which is a good sign. To survive the huge economic and social challenges the agency faces, it must recognize that it is selling a product like any other business and its success depends on satisfied customers.
“My biggest concern: will the people in the agency accept me?” said Koch. “I am coming from the outside. I am the new guy who doesn’t have the wildlife background. Whom am I to step in here and be telling people what they should be doing?”
Then he answered his own questions.
“I don’t see myself as telling anybody what to do. I am coming in here and building a team, making sure that every single member feels like they have a true, genuine ownership in the future.”
