TOPEKA ? Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has appointed a former utility executive to be the new secretary of the Department of Administration.

Brownback named Jim Clark, a former vice president of Kansas Gas Service, to lead the Department of Administration, which oversees purchasing, upkeep of state office buildings and computer and phone services for state agencies.

Clark was also a former vice president for Topeka-based Westar Energy Inc. He replaces interim Secretary Mark McGivern who had filled the post since January when Dennis Taylor left the agency to become the executive director of the Kansas Lottery.

Clark is a certified public accountant with a degree from Regis University in Denver. He serves as the chairman of the Ethics Committee of the Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants.