Michael Graney was appointed to the post of executive director of the West Virginia Development Office by Governor Jim Justice in 2018 under the West Virginia Department of Commerce and extended that title to him in the newly formed West Virginia Department of Economic Development, May 2021.

Graney earned his BA from the University of Virginia and his MBA from the University of Virginia Darden Graduate School of Business in 1990.

Since then, he has spent much of his professional career in executive or co-founder positions with companies related to the petroleum industry. In those roles, he was responsible for managing different facets of business, including acquisition, construction, finance, administration, retail operations and environmental compliance.

From 1991 to 2015, he was president of One Stop, a chain of convenience stores based in West Virginia.

He has been a member of numerous oil industry professional organizations and is active in many community and non-profit organizations.