Josh Geballe, one of the most important players in Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration, is leaving the administration for a top job at Yale.

For nearly two years during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Geballe became one of the key faces of the administration as he answered numerous questions from reporters about vaccines and masks on live television. After Lamont, Geballe was among the most powerful leaders in state government.

As the coronavirus was spreading, Lamont decided to replace the public health commissioner at the time. Geballe essentially became the public health commissioner, filling a large role.

Lamont and Geballe, who both attended graduate school at Yale at different times, forged a close friendship during the long hours as they made crucial decisions during the pandemic.

“It’s been a little like a war with all the incoming over this last couple of years,” Lamont told reporters at a news conference in Hartford. “If you’re going to be in a foxhole, you want to be in a foxhole with Josh Geballe. He was the first guy I talked to at 6:30 in the morning and the last guy I talked to at 10:30 at night.”

At Yale, Geballe, 47, will take over as senior associate provost for entrepreneurship to help coordinate the talent of faculty and students as they create start-up businesses and jobs in and around New Haven. The position is designed to “help enable Yale research to have the greatest possible impact on the world” by overseeing the Office of Cooperative Research in a university-wide effort.

As a fellow business entrepreneur, Lamont mentions Geballe far more often than he mentions other commissioners during speeches to various audiences, including business groups.

During the frequent pandemic press conferences, Lamont constantly referred detailed questions about the coronavirus to “Josh” — to the point that conservative critics on the radio and elsewhere said that Geballe was doing much of the administration’s work.

With the title of chief operating officer, Geballe commanded a wide portfolio and still held the title of commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services — a key, behind-the-scenes state agency that is involved in everything from hiring state employees to purchasing hundreds of cars for state troopers. He helped carry out the administration’s policies along with Lamont’s chief of staff, Paul Mounds Jr.

Lamont noted that Geballe and his colleagues also kept the operations running smoothly in the low-key, little-noticed administrative services department.

“Purchasing ... in the political world, it’s sort of not that important,” Lamont told reporters. “If you come out of the business world, these are key functions to get right to give people confidence that their state is doing it right. Under Josh’s leadership, DAS has gotten it right.”

Geballe’s departure will be a major loss that leaves a hole in the administration during an election year. His various duties will be handled by other state employees, particularly Michelle Gilman, who currently serves as deputy chief operating officer. She has been nominated to the position of DAS commissioner.

Gilman, 51, was hailed at the news conference as a dedicated, steady hand in state government who previously worked for the state comptroller and then has been Geballe’s deputy for the past two years. She will be paid $190,000 per year as commissioner.

In May 2020, Lamont fired public health commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell, who had been given a reduced public role and was not as visible as Geballe on the coronavirus at a crucial time when businesses and residents were searching for information on issues from retail closures to mask mandates.

As a behind-the-scenes player, Geballe said he does not foresee himself running for political office, noting how hard Lamont works.

“My grandfather told me to never say never, but I’m as close to never on that one as you could possibly — No, I don’t think so,” Geballe said. “I’ve also developed an incredible appreciation for how hard his job is — the degree to which every day is a new challenge from every possible direction and how you have to be constantly making decisions with imperfect information and dynamics that are constantly shifting.”

Created in 1982, the office has already helped 60 venture-backed startups during the past six years, as well as more than 1,600 patents over the past 40 years, according to the university.

“It’s something of a dream job for me,’' said Geballe, a former IBM executive who has spent part of his career in startups and cutting-edge technology.