Organizational Background

Mohawk Valley EDGE is a private, not-for-profit regional economic development organization created through a unique collaboration of public and private sector leaders. Its mission centers on strengthening existing businesses, attracting new industries and talent, and building a vibrant environment for companies and their employees. The organization’s work is framed around three core actions—Attract, Assist, and Align.

Headquartered in Rome, New York, Mohawk Valley EDGE is a coordinated economic development organization that assists businesses to locate, grow, and prosper. The organization works across a portfolio of strategic development projects, site readiness initiatives, redevelopment efforts, and business attraction and expansion activities that primarily serve Oneida and Herkimer counties. Mohawk Valley EDGE also supports Fulton, Montgomery, Otsego, and Schoharie Counties as part of the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council.

The Position

Mohawk Valley EDGE seeks an experienced, strategic, and execution-oriented President & Chief Executive Officer to serve as the organization’s chief executive and principal economic development leader. The President will lead efforts to strengthen and grow the Mohawk Valley economy through business attraction, business expansion, site development, infrastructure coordination, public-private partnerships, and long-range strategic planning.

This role requires a highly credible leader who can operate effectively at both the strategic and project levels, someone who builds confidence with corporate executives, developers, site selectors, government officials, educational institutions, utilities, and regional stakeholders while ensuring disciplined follow-through on complex initiatives. The President must be both a compelling storyteller and a skilled dealmaker: able to translate the Mohawk Valley’s assets into a persuasive investment narrative, and equally able to structure and close complex transactions. This demands an in-depth understanding of the public and private financial pathways—including incentives, grants, project finance, tax credits, and private capital structures—that attract and secure investment to the region. Equally important, the President must be an exceptional internal leader who sets clear direction, communicates with consistency and polish, empowers staff, builds trust, and creates a high-performing, stable organizational culture.

The successful candidate will preserve Mohawk Valley EDGE’s core strengths in project execution and public-private collaboration while advancing a forward-looking vision for the organization and the broader Mohawk Valley region.

Reporting Relationship

The President reports directly to the Board of Directors of Mohawk Valley EDGE and works closely with affiliated economic development partners and regional stakeholders.

 Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Organizational Management

• Lead the development and execution of Mohawk Valley EDGE’s long-range economic development strategy, including business attraction, retention, and expansion, site readiness, redevelopment, and sector-based growth initiatives.
• Preserve the organization’s core strengths in project execution, public-private collaboration, and results-oriented economic development while advancing a clear, compelling vision for the future.
• Provide executive leadership to staff; set clear priorities; define roles; delegate meaningfully; and ensure consistent coordination across economic development, project development, planning, marketing, and finance functions.
• Build and sustain a high-trust internal culture that values staff engagement, professional development, burnout prevention, and talent retention as strategic priorities.
• Oversee an organization whose financial model includes both grant-supported and program-service-supported activity, ensuring strong stewardship of externally funded initiatives, earned-service work, and major development-related commitments.
• Partner with the Board of Directors on strategic planning, annual priorities, budgeting, governance, and performance reporting, delivering clear, organized, and consistent communication.
• Oversee management services contracts for Griffiss Local Development Corporation, Oneida County Industrial Development Corporation, and Rome Industrial Development Corporation.

Business Attraction, Expansion & Regional Positioning

• Lead coordinated business attraction and expansion efforts, including direct engagement with corporate executives, consultants, developers, and national site selectors regarding investment, expansion, relocation, and redevelopment opportunities.
• Serve as the region’s chief storyteller, crafting and delivering a compelling narrative that positions the Mohawk Valley as a destination of choice for business investment, grounded in location, infrastructure, workforce, industry assets, and development readiness.
• Represent Mohawk Valley EDGE at trade shows, business development events, and strategic outreach opportunities to generate project leads and strengthen market visibility.
• Oversee and strengthen outreach-driven business development activity, including company engagement and prospect cultivation.

Project Development, Real Estate & Infrastructure

• Provide leadership and oversight for the organization’s active site and redevelopment portfolio, including projects such as the St. Luke’s Redevelopment at the former MVHS Hospital Campus in New Hartford, Marcy Nanocenter, multiple available sites, and brownfield cleanup and revitalization efforts.
• Guide real estate development and transaction activity involving leases, sales, development agreements, and project terms associated with business growth and redevelopment.
• Coordinate capital improvement and infrastructure efforts needed to improve site competitiveness and project readiness.

Finance, Incentives & Deal Structuring

• Structure and negotiate public-private financing packages, incentive strategies, and transaction frameworks that support business attraction, retention, redevelopment, and strategic investment projects, drawing on a sophisticated understanding of the full range of public and private financial pathways available to attract capital to the region.
• Review and analyze financial statements, underwriting materials, project budgets, and economic impact considerations relevant to major projects and business opportunities.
• Assist in the development of grants, funding applications, and financing strategies involving local, state, federal, and private sources.
• Ensure organizational decisions and development activities are grounded in sound financial analysis, disciplined project evaluation, and measurable results.

Regional & Statewide Coordination

• Maintain strong working knowledge of the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council structure, priorities, and related New York State economic development processes, and use that knowledge to strengthen project competitiveness.
• Work effectively across the full six-county Mohawk Valley region and build productive relationships with county leaders, municipal officials, industrial development agencies, employers, developers, educational institutions, and other regional stakeholders.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with local, state, and federal agencies and partner organizations to advance major projects and secure supportive resources for development.

Industry Strategy & Regional Strengths

• Advance business attraction, retention, and project development strategies that reflect the Mohawk Valley’s established and emerging strengths in advanced manufacturing, agribusiness and food-related production, materials and metals manufacturing, and cyber/information technology.
• Communicate the value of the region’s assets—including strategic location, major development sites, academic and research institutions, transportation access, cybersecurity presence, semiconductor-related investments, agribusiness opportunity, and manufacturing capability—to corporate prospects, site selectors, investment partners, and public agencies.
• Collaborate with workforce, education, and training partners to support employer needs and align talent resources with opportunities in the region’s priority sectors.

Knowledge, Skills, and Traits                                  

The next President & CEO must combine external credibility and deal-making strength with strong internal leadership. The successful candidate will be a strategic vision-setter who balances long-range direction with disciplined execution; a compelling storyteller who can translate regional assets into investment; a skilled deal maker with deep command of public and private financial pathways; an exceptional communicator who prepares thoroughly and closes the loop on commitments; a trust-building, empowering leader who develops people and culture; and a dual-facing relationship builder who matches strong external presence with equally intentional internal engagement.

Leadership Traits

• Strategic Vision & Direction Setter: Articulates a clear, compelling long-term vision, keeps priorities consistent, and aligns Board, staff, and partners around shared direction while balancing big-picture strategy with disciplined execution.
• Storyteller & Deal Maker: Crafts and delivers a persuasive narrative for the Mohawk Valley that attracts investment and talent; structures and closes complex deals with sophistication; and demonstrates in-depth understanding of the public and private financial pathways—incentives, grants, project finance, tax credits, and private capital—that bring capital to the region.
• Exceptional Internal Communicator: Delivers polished, organized, and consistent communication, verbal and written; prepares thoroughly for meetings and public speaking; ensures messages are clear and follow-through is visible.
• Trust-Building & Empowering Leader: Actively builds trust; empowers teams through clear role definition, meaningful delegation, and genuine staff development; creates an environment where people feel valued, heard, and equipped to succeed.
• Calm, Confident Executive Presence: Projects steady, confident leadership; demonstrates presence and preparation in meetings and external settings; follows through reliably and models accountability.
• Dual-Facing Relationship Builder: Maintains and strengthens strong external relationships, networking, and regional representation while matching that external strength with equally intentional internal relationship-building and engagement.
• Institutional Knowledge & Adaptive Operator: Quickly develops, or already possesses, deep understanding of the organization, region, and stakeholders; executes projects effectively while building systems and people capacity, not just delivering personally.
• Culture & Retention Champion: Treats staff engagement, burnout prevention, and talent retention as top strategic priorities; drives visible cultural improvement and operational stability, especially in the critical first 90 days.

EXPERIENCE 

• Bachelor’s degree required in business, public administration, planning, finance, economics, law, engineering, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Significant senior leadership experience in economic development, real estate development, project finance, infrastructure planning, business attraction, industry recruitment, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated success working directly with corporate executives, developers, consultants, and site selectors on business attraction, expansion, investment, or redevelopment opportunities—and a proven ability to serve as both storyteller and deal closer.
• Strong experience with project finance, budgeting, underwriting review, incentive strategy, and public-private deal structuring, coupled with in-depth understanding of the public and private financial pathways that attract investment to a region.
• Familiarity with New York State’s economic development environment, including the Regional Economic Development Councils and regionally aligned development strategies.
• Understanding of the Mohawk Valley’s industry profile and growth opportunities, particularly in advanced manufacturing, agribusiness and food production, materials and metals manufacturing, cybersecurity, information technology, and semiconductor-related development.
• Experience leading within an organization supported by a mix of grant funding, program service revenue, and major project activity, with the ability to manage financial accountability, external funding relationships, and operational complexity at scale.
• Proven track record of building high-trust teams, delivering strategic clarity, and driving cultural and operational improvement while excelling externally.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-management skills, with the ability to represent the organization effectively in both public and confidential business settings.