Riley right choice for interim role at economic development entity

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The choice of John Riley to serve as interim CEO of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership was the right move.

Riley has a solid record on economic development as part of the team that secured AstraZeneca’s headquarters operations. He also comes armed with the knowledge of the corporate sector, thanks to his posts at Hercules and  Ashland.

A few critics have called the AstraZeneca effort a failure, given the downsizing of the company. They are dead wrong when the economic impact figures are calculated from tax revenue from many jobs that paid into the six figures.

It was widely reported that Riley worked behind the scenes on championing the concept of a  public/private partnership as the state struggled with the loss of jobs at AstraZeneca, DuPont, and others.

It’s a   critical time for the state, which is moving from the Delaware Economic Development Office to a hybrid effort that will include sub-offices of the Department of State and the partnership.

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Along the way, some DEDO positions were eliminated and the risk is that institutional knowledge could be lost in the transition.

Riley, with a large network of contacts and relationships, should lessen that risk.

You might notice that I did not mention Amazon and its plans to build a headquarters that could employ tens of thousands of people.

At the risk of stating the obvious,  it’s a longshot. But many smaller Amazons may crop up and the state needs to have its economic development machinery running smoothly sooner rather than later.

Your thoughts, ideas, and  criticisms of this column or others are always welcome. – Doug Rainey, Publisher

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Delaware Business Now is a four-year-old, five-day-a-week newsletter and website operated by Bird Street Media LLC. Publisher and Chief Content Officer is Doug Rainey, a 30-year veteran of business journalism in the state of Delaware.  Business Now focuses on breaking business news in Delaware and immediate adjacent areas with apropriate background and perspective. Also offered exclusively in our FREE newsletter is commentary on state and regional issues. Have a complaint, question or even a compliment? Send an email to drainey@delawarebusinessnow.com. For advertising information, click on the About tab at the top of the home page Our business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call us at 302.753.0691.
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