Meet Our New Chief Operating Officer

A friendly and familiar face now fills the previously vacant position in the Commissioners office. Chris Lounsbury was hired as the County Chief Operating Officer in late December, after serving as Missoula County’s Director of Emergency Management since 2012.

His recent promotion has been Chris’ goal for three years. When hired as the OEM Director by former COO, Steve Johnson, Chris happily accepted the promotion but told Steve that he would one day be gunning for the role.

“I knew Steve was going to move on in 2018 and thought that I had a few years before I thought about applying,” Chris said. “But when Steve left early, and the position opened up, I knew that this was the time to stretch myself and apply for new challenges.”

The transition from OEM Director to COO has new and broader responsibilities, but Chris explains many similarities between both positions. As the OEM Director, Chris worked collaboratively across many departments and agencies. The job requires coordination with various forms of leadership. As such, Chris says that good relationships are the foundation of success. He sees being the COO in the same way. Instead of working with a handful of departments, as he did as the OEM Director, Chris now works on a “larger scale” across the County.

“In both roles, but now especially as the COO, I want to help departments when they’re interacting with other agencies or other departments,” Chris said.  “I think they all have the same goal: to best serve the public. I get to work with people who ask the right questions and who find the best and smartest people to answer them. I think that’s how government should operate.”

Chief Administrative Officer, Vickie Zeier, also attributed these qualities to Chris’ selection for the position and one of the many reasons why she believes he will succeed in the COO role.

“Chris’ experience as the Director of Office of Emergency Management was an important component to selecting him,” Vickie said. “He has demonstrated the ability to bring different agencies together to improve communications and work together to provide the essentials duties of public safety during emergency events.  

Chris is excited to have the opportunity to work on projects such as the Fort Missoula regional park, where he and his wife, Heather, and their two kids, Connor and Georgia, can enjoy the family venue.