Raymond "Ray" Novak, Template:Post-nominals (born March 30, 1977) is a Canadian political strategist, who was appointed as the fourteenth and current Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada on May 19, 2013 following the dismissal of Nigel Wright.Educated in political science at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Calgary, Novak first entered politics as an intern in the offices of Preston Manning and Rob Anders. He was later a researcher for the National Citizens Coalition while Stephen Harper was leading the organization, and moved to Ottawa as Harper's executive assistant when Harper returned to federal politics as the leader of the Canadian Alliance.Prior to being appointed as chief of staff, Novak worked in the PMO as Harper's principal secretary.