-- N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco today announced Lynn Holmes as the department’s new assistant secretary for the division of employment security. The appointment takes effect on Nov. 1 when the N.C. Employment Security Commission merges with the N.C. Department of Commerce. Holmes was appointed as chairwoman of the N.C. Employment Security Commission on March 1, 2010 by Gov. Bev Perdue.
“The combined agency will focus on two of Governor Perdue’s top priorities: creating jobs and getting more out of every state dollar,” Sec. Crisco said. “Lynn Holmes has the demonstrated leadership skills to make the merger of ESC into Commerce as effective and efficient as possible. We will focus on customer service, training our top notch workforce and transparency.”
Holmes brings to the job more than 25 years of experience in corporate, legislative and governmental relations. Prior to her appointment, Holmes was the principal consultant for Ross Holmes Group, LLC, a Raleigh-based consulting practice focused on management, compliance, ethics, governmental relations, and policy. She also served as assistant vice-president for Ethics & Compliance at BellSouth Corporation (now AT&T), and as vice-president for Regulatory and External Affairs in Atlanta, Ga.
Holmes began her career as a legislative counsel to then Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker before joining BellSouth as a legislative lobbyist in Washington D.C. She became BellSouth’s principal lobbyist in North Carolina and was named among the top 50 most influential lobbyists by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.
Active in the community, Holmes has participated in and serves on the boards of a variety of church, community, and civic organizations. She currently serves on the board and the executive committee of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, and is an active member of First Baptist Church.
Holmes graduated, cum laude, from Mount Holyoke College and from the Georgetown University Law Center. She also completed the Advanced Management Program at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
A native of Memphis, TN, Holmes and her husband reside in Raleigh.