Colorado Governor Bill Owens named M. Michael Cooke the executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, which oversees the state's horse and greyhound racing industry and operates the state lottery.

Cooke, who currently is the head of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, will succeed Fred Fisher in her new post, which begins in January.

Cooke is a fourth-generation Coloradan who graduated from the Women's College of the University of Denver and served six years as Douglas County commissioner before joining Owens's cabinet in 1999.