Lenny Mendonca steps down as Newsom’s business adviser

Turlock native Lenny Mendonca, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top business adviser and chairman of the High-Speed Rail Authority, is leaving the administration to focus on his family and personal business.

Newsom’s office announced the departure Friday night. In a statement, Newsom praised Mendonca for launching an initiative aimed at improving the economic fortunes of the state’s inland counties and kicking off Newsom’s Future of Work Commission.

Mendonca was often prominent in highlighting the Central Valley economy such as last November when the eighth annual California Economic Summit came to Fresno.

Mendonca, a former senior partner at the consulting powerhouse McKinsey & Company, has long been a go-to adviser for Newsom.

“I don’t know what he hasn’t done for California: Everywhere I go, there’s Lenny or his footprint, his point of view, his involvement, his interest, his insight,” Newsom told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2015. “He is remarkable in this respect: He has this unique ability to navigate in disparate places, both traditional and nontraditional..

On Friday, Newsom said, “Lenny has been an invaluable partner in growing our California economy and making sure it includes everyone. With a lifetime of business experience and an entrepreneurial spirit, Lenny has guided our economic development strategies with equal parts skill and grace. A son of the Central Valley, Lenny made room at the table for parts of California that for too long have been left out of our state’s prosperity.

On social media, Capitol hands wished Mendonca well. “Thank you for your service - our state is better off because of you,” wrote Richard Costigan, the former CalPERS Board of Administration member and legislative secretary to former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Losing @Lenny_Mendonca is a great loss for @CAgovernor and CA!,” wrote Michael Gunning, vice president of legislative affairs for the California Building Industry Association.

This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Lenny Mendonca steps down as Newsom’s business adviser."