Drew Wilson
Longtime Department of Financial Services Chief of Staff Peter Penrod is leaving his post at the end of the year.
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced the pending departure “with a heavy heart” in an internal DFS memo shared first with Florida Politics.
“Peter was first my General Counsel, and then I made him my Chief of Staff to help carry this agency to the next level. He’s got a legal mind like nothing I’ve ever seen. With Peter by my side, and with your leadership, we tackled COVID, we responded to Hurricane Ian, and dealt with the tragedy at Surfside,” Patronis wrote.
“We’ve had incredible legislative victories like getting more funding for technologies to improve customer support throughout the agency, we created the Cancer Decontamination Program, we got more funding for our Urban Search & Rescue Teams, established two anti-insurance fraud units along the I-4 corridor, done everything from tax cuts to grants to help people save money on their premiums, and so on and so on.”
Patronis advised staff not to lavish praise on Penrod: “Peter hates compliments, so if you want to shoot him a note thanking him for his service, I would personally appreciate it.”
Penrod has been Patronis’ Chief of Staff since 2019, following a stint as General Counsel overseeing the Divisions of Risk Management and Rehabilitation and Liquidation. Prior to joining DFS, Penrod was the General Counsel for the Department of Economic Opportunity. He previously held numerous other government and law positions.
Penrod will be succeeded by Frank Collins, who Patronis said is “fired up” about the promotion.
“Frank’s been with us for nearly four years, he’s been our DCFO over a breadth of divisions, he’s worked at our EOC during emergencies, and most important to me, he’s helped me to articulate the vision for how we can use this agency to help as many people as possible,” Patronis wrote.
He concluded, “In the New Year, we’re going to do a lot of exciting things. Florida’s had incredible success, and you can’t do any of it without our agency. You’re the backbone of ensuring all of this works, and I never forget it.”
The full letter is below:
DFS Peter Penrod announcement by Andrew Wilson on Scribd
