Former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson is returning to the commonwealth to lead the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
Grayson recently resigned as director of the Harvard University Institute of Politics.
In a phone interview Thursday, Grayson told WKU Public Radio that becoming president of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce was the perfect job to come home to. He said thinks his two terms as secretary of state and his Frankfort and Washington connections will serve him well.
"Somebody in the interview process referred to me as having the best of both worlds where I am a local with some local knowledge, but I also know how Washington and Frankfort works, and how a big city like Boston operates," commented Grayson.
"While he has the flavor of our local community, he brings to us a much wider national perspective," remarked Chamber Chairwoman Debbie Simpson."There are issues that any business organization is dealing with. People are doing business differently today and our organizations have to adjust to fit that, and I think the fresh perspective that Trey is bringing back will really help us meet those challenges," added Simpson.
Northern Kentucky is facing a couple of immediate challenges, including the aging Brent Spence Bridge and the closing of Toyota’s corporate headquarters.
Grayson begins work for the Chamber on July 1.
The Northern Kentucky native said he’s home to stay, and maybe in the future, return to politics.
"Any elected official in Kentucky who's worried their next opponent may be the person they're working with across the table when they're sitting down with the Chamber of Commerce need not fear me," he added. I'm 42 years old and maybe sometime I want to run for office again, but not anytime soon. I made that pledge to the search committee, myself, and to my wife and daughters."
In 2010, Grayson lost the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate to Rand Paul.
Grayson was a finalist earlier this year for the presidency of Transylvania University.
