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EDC’s CEO Search in Full Swing — Again

The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., a privately funded agency that hired a new chief executive one day, only to have him turn down the job two days later, appointed EDC board member Bill Geppert as its interim CEO on July 13.

Geppert, who retired as senior vice president of Cox Communications San Diego in February, will be paid on a monthly contract that wasn’t revealed. He said he is not a candidate for the job nor did he seek out the position previously.

“They asked me to come in and be the interim CEO until they find someone for the permanent job, and I told them I would be glad to do it,” Geppert said. “This is not about the money. It’s about helping out the community.”

Stath Karras, a member of the EDC’s search committee, said Geppert’s term could run until the end of the year, but that may change depending on whether a new candidate emerges from a renewed search process.

“We don’t want to be rushed,” he said. “I assume we’ve had pretty good interest because it’s a very highly sought after opportunity.”

Indeed, when the EDC announced the selection of Barry Broome on July 6, members of the group’s search committee said he was far and away the most qualified person from a field of about 300 applicants.

However, within two days of that well-publicized announcement, Broome, 50, said he decided to stay at his current position as chief executive of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

In a prepared statement released July 8 by GPEC, Broome said even though he already resigned from the council, after talking with some board members, they asked him to stay.

Not About the Money

“They said if I wanted to stay, you can stay,” Broome said. “Professionally, the opportunity in San Diego is staggering. But at the end of the day, this is where I wanted to be.”

He said the compensation package offered by the EDC, which equaled what he was making in Phoenix — about $366,000 — was not an issue, and that he didn’t leverage the EDC position to extract a raise.

The news shook EDC’s board, with some members calling Broome’s reneging on a signed agreement, which was done weeks earlier, strange.

Debra Reed, EDC’s chairman and CEO of Sempra Energy, said Broome’s decision was disappointing, especially after it was announced publicly. “However, San Diego has one of the world’s most diverse economies, and we have had interest in the position from some of the country’s top economic development professionals,” Reed said.

Bob Watkins, whose executive search firm was hired to find the top candidates, said he had never seen anything like it for such a high-profile position.

“It happens, but not very often,” he said. “Sometimes when people make a decision, they go and think about it, and sometimes they (get) soft knees.”

Watkins added, “When he got back to Phoenix, he got a number of calls asking him to stay, and he didn’t realize how much he was missed in Arizona.”

Plenty of Candidates

The EDC search committee had worked for about four and a half months seeking a replacement for retired CEO Julie Meier Wright, who held the position for 13 years after working as California’s first secretary of trade and commerce. She announced her resignation early this year, effective June 30. Meier Wright’s contract calls for her to provide consulting to the organization through the end of this year.

Watkins said the search began as soon as it was clear Broome wasn’t taking the job. He said the committee will be looking again at some of the top finalists who were interviewed, as well as some possible candidates who were unable to be reached, and other new candidates, including some economic development executives.

“Our search is back in full swing,” Watkins said. “Within the next 60 to 90 days we’ll have a decision made on who the next CEO will be.”

Asked if the group will do anything differently this time to avoid another embarrassing story, Watkins said “we’re going to put a ball and chain around” the new leader.

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