John C. Duncan

John C. Duncan, for the second time in his career, has been appointed Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).

Duncan has had a distinguished career in both state and federal service including an appointment as special assistant to former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger. He assisted the Secretary in writing "Fighting for Peace," an autobiographical account of the Secretary’s years at the Pentagon. In 1987, he received the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Public Service.

His current state government appointment - by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on August 9, 2007 - follows previous service to DIR that included chief deputy director and then DIR director from 1995 to 1999. From 1991, he was DIR deputy director of communications.

During his first DIR tenure, he was the principal advisor to Governor Pete Wilson on labor and employment issues and was a member of his Cabinet.

As DIR Director, Duncan oversees a department with 2,700 employees and a $382 million budget. He also serves as the administrator of apprenticeship and as an ex-officio member of the State Compensation Insurance Fund Board of Directors.

Prior to his current appointment, he was Chair of the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) from March 2004 and was a member of Governor Schwarzenegger’s transition team where he was charged with handling issues and personnel for the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

Duncan has also had significant private sector experience in labor and regulatory matters. He was president of Duncan Consulting, Inc. where he designed communications strategy for corporate, legal and governmental clients and specialized in navigating labor-related regulatory issues. He was also president and COO of Magnitude Information Systems, a company specializing in software and internet solutions for preventing workplace injuries, for several years.

As part of his federal service, Duncan was an assistant to the secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense and special assistant to the deputy assistant secretary of defense for International Security Affairs, East Asia and Pacific Affairs.

He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor's degree in history and of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government with a master's in public administration.

Duncan is a board member of the Yosemite National Institute and California Conservation Corps Foundation, a former president of the Industrial Relations Association of Northern California, and a former chair of the California Employment Training Panel.