ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE
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Richard J. Geisenberger State of Delaware, Department of State Phone (302) 739-4111 |
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Richard J. “Rick” Geisenberger is Delaware’s Assistant Secretary of State reporting to Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock. His primary responsibility is managing and marketing the state’s Division of Corporations. Delaware is known internationally as the corporate home to more than 60% of Fortune 500 companies and more than 75% of all U.S. initial public offerings. Since assuming his position in January 2001, the Division of Corporations has experienced continued growth in market share and handled a 60% increase in filing volumes while limiting spending growth and returning more than $40 million of unspent funds to the State’s general fund. In 2008, the Division won the Gore Award of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Delaware Quality Awards, in recognition of the Division’s ongoing efforts to provide superior services to its customers and develop world-class internal processes.
Rick also oversees the Delaware Government Information Center which is responsible for managing content on the State of Delaware’s official website – Delaware.gov. In 2007 and 2008, the State’s websites were rated as the best in the nation in the Brown University/Brookings Institution annual e-Government survey, up from a 49th place ranking in 2000. Delaware.gov is consistently rated among the best state web portals in the country by the Center for Digital Government (CDG), the nation’s leading research institute on best information technology practices.
Rick is a long-time advocate for bridging the digital divide and has helped to lead initiatives making Delaware the first state to wire every public school classroom to the Internet and ensuring that citizens have access to state-of-the-art technology in all of Delaware’s public libraries. He is the recipient of the Delaware Library Association’s Distinguished Service Award (2005) and was named a “2007 Politician of the Year” by the Library Journal Magazine, the nation’s leading publication for library professionals.
Rick also directs the Department of State’s finance and information technology sections and is responsible for overall policy, planning, and legislation for the Department of State.
Most of his career has been spent in the private sector where he has held a variety of M&A, finance, banking, treasury, and strategic planning positions – first with Corestates Financial, then Manufacturers Hanover Corporation and more recently with Delmarva Power.
Rick earned his M.G.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, his B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College, and has completed the Wharton Executive Program in Mergers and Acquisitions. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Grand Opera House, is Treasurer of the Delwynn Civic Association, and a member of Congregation Beth Emeth.
