Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Thursday the resignation of Paul Green, director of the Montana Department of Commerce. Deputy director Mandy Rambo will take over as the agency’s acting leader.
Green said in an interview at the Montana Capitol on Thursday that he’s leaving the commerce department in the middle of this year’s legislative session to take a job at Big Sky Economic Development, the regional economic development authority that serves the Billings area. That job, he said, will let him work closer to his family farm and ranch outside Hardin.
“My family has to come first, and I’ve neglected them,” Green said.
“I feel very loyal to the governor and I didn’t want to abandon him, but he has been generous and understanding,” Green added.
At a press conference Thursday, Gianforte thanked Green for his service to the state.
“Paul Green did a great job at commerce,” Gianforte said. “I am disappointed to see him leave, but he made the decision to spend more time with family.”
Gianforte appointed Green as director in January 2024. In December 2023, the agency’s previous head, Scott Osterman, resigned in the wake of an investigation that found he improperly spent $26,000.
The Montana Department of Commerce supports statewide economic development efforts. The agency distributes money funds and gives loans to promote business, tourism and infrastructure. Under Green’s tenure, the agency’s grants included a $240,000 award for tribal entrepreneurship and a $740,000 investment in Montana’s event tourism industry. Many of the agency’s efforts focused on the state’s rising cost of living, including a $3.2 million investment of federal funds for affordable housing across Dillon, Bozeman, Billings and Laurel.
Before he was an agency director, Green served as a representative for Montana House District 41. Green, a U.S. Navy veteran, has also worked as executive director of Two Rivers Economic Development Authority and with the Montana Economic Developers Association.
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