Posted: 3:19 am ET
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We blogged about Maliz Beams’ appointment back in August (see Former Voya Financial CEO Maliz Beams Reportedly Appointed @StateDept Counselor) and again when her official bio finally showed up on state.gov (see @StateDept Now Has an Official Bio For New Counselor of the State Department Maliz E. Beams).
On November 27, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to the press that Maliz Beams who was appointed Counselor of the State Department on August 17, 2017 and tasked with leading Tillerson’s redesign efforts “is stepping away from her role here at the Department of State and is returning to her home in Boston.”
In addition to the names mentioned in the BuzzFeed piece below, prior to Ms. Beams arrival at State, the redesign efforts was managed by an FSO brought back from overseas. At another point, an ambassador’s spouse was also brought in to work the redesign beat. Did we miss anyone?
The State Department statement notes that “Effective immediately, Christine Ciccone will step in to lead the redesign effort and manage its daily activities.”
BuzzFeed quotes Thomas Hill of the Brookings Institution and a former Republican staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) saying that “Beams’ departure is disappointing because she did at least have private sector experience in redesigning major organizations” and that “Now she’s being replaced by someone with very little experience with agency reform or the State Department.”
Christine Ciccone is officially Tillerson’s Deputy Chief of Staff. Prior to landing at the State Department, she was the chief operating officer of Jeb Bush’s failed 2016 presidential campaign. She resigned late in 2015 when the Bush campaign underwent a downsizing according to the Daily Wire. Ciccone also worked in George W. Bush’s presidential administration as special assistant to the president and before that was a longtime Senate staffer. In 2014, she headed a newly formed entity SGR LLC, Government Relations & Lobbying, a sister firm of Sphere Consulting LLC. (See Bush chief operating officer departs campaign; Jeb team’s chief operating officer quits. WaPo recently reported about SGR LLC).
So now Ms. Ciccone is double hatted as Deputy Chief of Staff and Redesigner-in-Chief, and Brian Hook is S/P and the all bureaus-in-one hat. We can’t wait for the next Hill briefing and the new redesign slides!

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, joined by U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, left, and Deputy Chief of Staff Christine Ciccone, prepare for a meeting with U.S./Alaska Permanent Participants to the Arctic Council in Fairbanks, Alaska, on May 10, 2017. [U.S. Air Force photo / Public Domain]
JUST IN: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's redesign chief, Maliz Beams, leaves her role in the State Department after just 3 months on the job, spokesperson confirms. pic.twitter.com/jeqGfrQYLq
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) November 27, 2017
Not a good sign for Tillerson's redesign: the person running it has quit after just three months on the job https://t.co/kUgjdZVHSb
— Nicholas Wadhams (@nwadhams) November 27, 2017
Accomplished finance exec but with no knowledge of diplomacy quits as lead of Capital-R “Redesign” effort after 3 months. Not @TheOnion! https://t.co/mjzDWQw40L
— Alyssa Ayres (@AyresAlyssa) November 27, 2017
"Tillerson's overhaul effort has often resembled a game of musical chairs, with new senior officials stepping in to lead the effort from one month to the next": 👉🏻 Bill Inglee 👉🏻 John Sullivan 👉🏻 Maliz Beams 👉🏻 Christine Ciccone + Brian Hook https://t.co/W6oQThVD1Q pic.twitter.com/O16jNEPy0I
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) November 28, 2017
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