Applicant
Lieutenant Governor of California
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Applicant Eleni Kounalakis is asking you to hire her for the role of lieutenant governor, which pays $163,917 per year. Her resume:
Eleni Kounalakis
Lieutenant Governor of California
Professional Profile
The first woman elected lieutenant governor of California (though the second to serve in the position), Eleni Kounalakis already has her eye on higher office. She has said she wants to ensure a female candidate wins the governorship in 2026 — and it could just be her. The light duties of her office, which mainly involve sitting on the governing boards of California’s public higher education systems and a state land use commission, have provided few opportunities to build her profile, however.
Kounalakis received some attention in March, when she became the first woman to sign a bill into law in California, while Gov. Gavin Newsom was on spring break with his family, and last fall, when she stepped in to lead California’s delegation to the United Nations climate summit in Scotland after Newsom dropped out at the last minute. But otherwise, the spotlight has shined brightest on Kounalakis when she picked a date for last year’s gubernatorial recall election and back in 2019, when she solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, largely from labor unions, to renovate her state office.
Experience
Lieutenant Governor of California
2019-present
Originally hoping to serve again in the federal government, she pivoted to running for lieutenant governor after Democrat Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election.
Has been a regular presence at University of California Board of Regents and California State University Board of Trustees meetings, advocating against tuition hikes and executive salary increases and for other policies favored by students.
Appointed by Newsom as California’s representative for international affairs and trade development, she ratified a series of agreements with Mexico on trade, investment, energy, and environmental policy in 2019.
U.S. ambassador to Hungary
2010-2013
Nominated by then-President Barack Obama, she worked to promote free governance in a country with backsliding democratic values.
Wrote a memoir, “Madam Ambassador, Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties and Democracy in Budapest,” about her experience.
President, AKT Development Corporation
1992-2010
After graduating from business school, she rose from project manager to president at a Sacramento-area housing development firm founded by her father, Angelo Tsakopolous.
“I remain more determined than ever to ensure that while I may be the first to do so, I will certainly not be the last.” (in a statement after she became the first woman to sign a bill into law in California).