J. Dee Dennis, Jr., Superintendent
J. Dee Dennis, Jr., was appointed by Governor Susana Martinez to head the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, which oversees five different industries, including financial institutions and securities.
Mr. Dennis is a successful and well-known New Mexico business leader who is the original founder of DKD Electric Company, a New Mexico owned and operated company. Started in 1978, Mr. Dennis, as DKD President and Chairman, has successfully developed the company into one of the largest regional electrical contractors in the Southwest. In 1999, he merged his company with a publicly traded company, IES, Integrated Electrical Services, in order to increase the opportunities of his company and its employees.
From 1999 through 2003, Mr. Dennis became Regional Operating Officer for IES. His responsibilities included the management and control of 27 companies. In this position he managed the revenues of 285 million dollars annually, along with the overall management of 2,700 employees. He was responsible for all operations, financial reports, and bottom-line accountability for the IES subsidiaries in his region. As the Regional Operating Officer (ROO), he was effectively in a COO position on a regional basis in a $1.75 billion dollar publicly traded company. In 2005, a management group lead by Mr. Dennis purchased DKD from IES. Since the purchase, DKD has increased revenue by 90 percent and operating income by 120 percent.
In addition to his entrepreneurial businesses, Mr. Dennis is involved in enhancing the quality of life in our community by participating as a volunteer on a variety of boards and charity organizations.
Mary Kay Root, Deputy Superintendent
Mary Kay Root has been practicing law in New Mexico for more than 20 years, specializing in government relations, employment, personnel, labor relations and mediation. She also has legal experience in the areas of labor law, civil rights, corporate and banking matters, probate, family law, estate planning, real estate, bankruptcy, oil and gas and water law.
Ms. Root has extensive legislative experience, serving as the chief analyst for the Minority Leadership Office with the New Mexico State Senate for more than 10 years. She also served in various capacities for the New Mexico Department of Economic Development, including Acting Deputy Secretary, from 1997 to 1999 and as Director of Labor and Industry Division with the New Mexico Department of Labor from 2001 to 2002. She consulted as a hearing officer and mediator for nine years with the Jicarilla Apache Nation.
Ms. Root graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor of business administration degree and obtained her law degree from University of Texas School of Law. She is from the Gallinas Canyon outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is a member of the Employment & Labor Law Section and the Indian Bar Section of the New Mexico State Bar Association, is currently serving as Second Lieutenant for the La Placita Volunteer Fire Department and is a member Our Lady of Sorrows parish.
James C. McKay, General Counsel
James McKay is the Chief General Counsel for the Regulation and Licensing Department. Mr. McKay is an experienced public service attorney, who retired in 2010 from the Army judge Advocate Corps as a Colonel, concluding 33 years of military service, in a variety of assignments and venues, ranging from Vietnam service to the Global War on Terrorism.
Mr. McKay supervises a legal staff of six attorneys and two paralegals, providing litigation and administrative support for different divisions, dealing with diverse areas including Construction Industries, Financial Institutions, Securities and Alcohol and Gaming.