Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has picked her campaign manager to run her administration.

Zach Ambrose will be Perdue's chief of staff, she announced Tuesday.

Ambrose was chief of staff to then- Lt. Gov. Perdue from 2005 to 2007. He managed her campaign for governor. Perdue also picked Ambrose to help run her transition team.

Ambrose is a North Carolina native who has degrees in electrical engineering and Russian from MIT.

He served five years in the U.S. Navy. He was the director of the N.C. Senate Caucus in 2001.

"Zach Ambrose will be a strong leader for this administration," said Perdue. "His knowledge of the issues facing our state will be a great asset as we move North Carolina forward."