George Norcross III this afternoon announced Cooper Hospital’s appointment of the Chief of Staff of Gov. Chris Christie as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.
In the announcement, Norcross noted that Kevin O’Dowd – who served as Christie’s COS since 2012 – brings more than 17 years of executive management and legal experience to Cooper and will be part of the senior executive management team.
O’Dowd will oversee marketing, human resources, compliance oversight, and corporate real estate and development. He will join Cooper in January 2015.
Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2003, O’Dowd served as Deputy Attorney General for the State of New Jersey.
PolitickerNJ noted over the summer that O’Dowd was unlikely to continue in the role of Christie chief of staff.
O’Dowd’s move to Cooper underscores the close relations Christie and his administration have with Norcross, Cooper’s chairman of the board of trustees and leader of the South Jersey Democratic Party.
