Jacqueline Degenova Appointed Superintendent of the Division of Liquor Control

Ohio Department of Commerce Director Sherry Maxfield has appointed Jacqueline Degenova, J.D. to serve as Superintendent of the Division of Liquor Control (DOLC). She will assume the role on May 6, 2024. Degenova replaces former DOLC superintendent James V. Canepa, who was appointed to serve as Superintendent of Commerce’s recently created Division of Cannabis Control in December 2023.

A leader with over three decades of public service experience, Degenova comes to Commerce from the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA), where she most recently served as State Long-term Care

Ombudsman. Prior to that role, she served as the Chief of the Division for Community Living. She also has served as a member of the Ohio Governor’s Nursing Home Quality and Accountability Task Force, during which time she helped to identify and implement various solutions to improve the quality of care and quality of life provided at Ohio’s nursing homes.

“Jackie’s impressive and exemplary record of success, along with her tireless commitment to both consumers and businesses throughout her notable career, give me great confidence she not only is the right leader for the Division of Liquor Control, but she will continue to pursue and implement innovative strategies that will allow us to better serve our licensees, stakeholders and consumers,” Maxfield said.

Prior to her time at ODA, Degenova worked for nearly 30 years as an attorney, serving in numerous senior leadership positions, often implementing priority initiatives involving the collaboration of businesses and consumers centered around consumer advocacy.

She served as Chief of the Consumer Protection Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, where her priority initiatives focused on the protection of Ohio’s vulnerable citizens, such as investigating and litigating unfair and deceptive practices, and aiding law enforcement in the prosecution of fraud crimes. In addition, she led consumer protection initiatives that included drafting Ohio’s first “Do Not Call” legislation to restrict unwanted telemarketing calls and providing testimony before the United States Senate Investigation Subcommittee on cross-border telemarketing fraud and financial impacts.

Degenova previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Chief Legal Counsel for the Ohio Auditor of State, where she oversaw the divisions of General Services, Finance and IT, including the process of transferring Ohio onto the Ohio Administrative Knowledge System (OAKS) for central accounting, capital assets and human resources processes. As

Senior Deputy General Counsel at Columbus State Community College, she played a critical role in the establishment of various public-private partnership initiatives and trades apprenticeships. Her experience with those partnerships will continue in her new role as she oversees the state’s liquor enterprise system, where profits from the responsible and fair selling of high-proof spirits funds economic development in Ohio. Degenova also previously served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and she managed her own private consulting practice.

“I am grateful to Director Maxfield for the opportunity to join the Ohio Department of Commerce and lead the Division of Liquor Control, where I look forward to building from the positive momentum that has been generated to date,” Degenova said. “The Division of Liquor Control plays a critical role throughout Ohio, not only as it relates to the regulation of alcohol, but particularly its impact on economic growth and investment throughout the state. I am excited at what our division will achieve in the years to come, and the effect our work will have on Ohio’s businesses and communities.”

Degenova earned a Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.