Governor Perdue Announces Appointment of Dr. Kenneth Heaghney as State Fiscal Economist

Heaghney will succeed Dr. Henry Thomassen to forecast Georgia’s revenue collections

ATLANTA, GA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the appointment of Dr. Kenneth J. Heaghney, as Georgia's state fiscal economist. Heaghney succeeds Dr. Henry Thomassen, who served as the economic advisor to Governor Perdue and seven prior Georgia governors. Dr. Thomassen passed away on May 27, 2004.

"Dr. Heaghney's vast experience will give him the extraordinary ability to apply economic concepts and trends to drive Georgia's financial revenue projections," said Governor Sonny Perdue.

As Georgia's fiscal economist, Heaghney will be responsible for the preparation of the annual state revenue forecast, while also serving as research professor of economics at Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. The university played a key role in recruiting Heaghney for this position and will provide a wealth of academic resources for his research. Heaghney will monitor and analyze state and national economic trends, project revenue figures, and advise Governor Perdue on economic issues related to Georgia.

"I have full confidence that Dr. Heaghney will put his private sector experience to good use performing one of Georgia's most important financial tasks: predicting Georgia's economic outlook," said Governor Perdue.

Heaghney, 51, has more than 19 years of experience in the business community as an economic consultant. He worked in a wide variety of industries and functional areas including pricing, customer management, investment and resource planning, and operations planning. Most recently, Heaghney worked for the Acxiom Corporation as a consultant, where he forecasted revenues and prepared marketing, sales, and product development investment plans. Prior to working at Acxiom, Heaghney worked for Manugistics as the Director of Strategic Consulting Services, assisting clients to achieve profitability through the implementation of business processes and technology.

Heaghney received a Ph.D. in economics from Rice University and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri. Heaghney began work as Georgia's fiscal economist on Monday, January 24, 2005.