Governor Dannel Malloy has named a new leadership team for the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Current deputy commissioner Michael Bzdyra will step up to the top job in the troubled agency.
He will be joined by a new deputy, Judeen Wrinn, a former executive in the private sector who has experience turning around customer service problems.
The DMV has been under fire for disastrous wait times and the failed implementation of a new computer system. The two new leaders were introduced at a press conference at the Capitol Wednesday.
Wrinn, the former COO of insurance company Voya, was once called in to troubleshoot Aetna's customer service call center. She didn't name the company, but described the experience.
"The customers were screaming and the employees were crying every single day. If you think I am exaggerating, I am not. I lived it," Wrinn told the assembled press. She received plaudits for turning that situation around.
Now she's facing a similar situation in a government agency. "DMV’s customers are our families, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbors," she said. "They don’t deserve this. And as hokey as it sounds, if you know me, you would know this to be true, I really care."
The appointment comes as some legislators are considering a bill that would privatize the core functions of the DMV. A bill currently before the Transportation Committee would require the DMV to outsource registration, commercial licenses, and other customer services, as a way to reduce wait times.
