LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – An Arkansas agency charged with corporate and human resources management has a new leader.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that she had appointed Leslie Fisken as Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services. Fisken will replace the outgoing Sec. Joseph Wood, who has become chair of the state Republican Party.

The governor spoke highly of Fisken’s qualifications.

“For the past eight months, Leslie has successfully united every agency in my administration around our shared goal to make bold, transformational change for the people of Arkansas,” Sanders said. “She is a hard worker with a deep understanding of how state government works, both of which make her eminently qualified to serve as Secretary of Transformation and Shared Services.”

Prior to the Tuesday appointment, Fisken had been Sander’s Director of Cabinet Affairs. She came to that role after serving as the Chief of Legislative Affairs for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

Fisken also worked in governmental relations at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and served as an education policy advisor to Governor Asa Hutchinson.

The Department of Transformation and Shared Services covers a number of internal state services including building and personnel management, employee benefits, information technology, purchasing and geographic information systems.