Former Chesapeake Energy executive hired as Deputy Secretary for DCNR

• Marie Cusick
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  Marie Cusick was the Harrisburg reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania.

The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has hired former Chesapeake Energy executive Brian Grove as its new Deputy Secretary for Administration.
Grove previously served as Senior Director of Corporate Development for Chesapeake Energy– the state’s most active natural gas drilling company.
Grove previously worked for Sen. Lisa Baker (R- Luzerne) and in the administrations of Governors Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker.  He is a graduate of West Chester University and currently lives in Tunkhannock, Wyoming County.
DCNR spokeswoman Chris Novak explained Grove’s new role.
“It covers our budget, [information technology], and human resources,” she says, “It’s the administrative functions of the department.”
DCNR did not issue a press release announcing Grove’s arrival, but Novak says they are planning on covering it in a forthcoming department newsletter. The agency currently oversees natural gas drilling operations in thousands of acres of state forest land.
Grove replaces John Giordano, who earned $121,194 a year in the position. Novak says he left to work for New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection.
At Chesapeake, Grove repeatedly defended the company against charges of environmental harm. He was recently let go during Chesapeake’s massive restructuring which lead to hundreds of layoffs around the country.
DCNR’s top leadership has changed recently. Former Secretary Richard Allan was fired by Governor Corbett over the summer. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported he was let go for sending a racially-charged email.
The agency is now headed by Secretary Ellen Ferretti, who previously served as Deputy Secretary for Parks and Forestry.
 
 

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