Allison Gollust, who left the executive VP/corporate communications slot at NBC Universal after its merger with Comcast in 2010, was named director of communications for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Richard Bamberger, who previously worked for Cuomo since 2008 when the governor was attorney general of New York, is stepping down from the governor’s office after nearly two years in the post.
Gollust, a 14-year NBC vet, was chief spokeswoman for NBCU and CEO Jeff Zucker, who also left after the Comcast merger, after stints heading NBC News communications, a tenure which included the death of Tim Russert and changes from Katie Couric to Meredith Vieira at “Today” and from Tom Brokaw to Brian Williams on the “NBC Nightly News.”
“Allison is a consummate professional who has a wealth of experience in communications and management,” Cuomo said in a statement.
She previously directed communications for Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids and started out in journalism.
Cuomo, a prominent Democrat expected by many to run for president in 2016, was elected in 2010.