Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC President Accepts New Position

Download PDF

Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC President Accepts New Position
Organization Launches Search for New Leader

Fargo, N.D. (April 21, 2010) – The Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic
Development Corporation (GFMEDC) announced today that its president, Brian
Walters, has accepted a position with the Metro Orlando Economic Development
Commission.

Walters will join the Orlando organization as its executive vice president of
business development on June 1. He has been president of the GFMEDC,
formerly the Fargo Cass County Economic Development Corporation (FCCEDC),
since May of 2002.

Ron Robson, chair of the GFMEDC Board of Directors, praised Walters for
his vision, leadership and foresight into the evolution of economies and the
forces that drive them. He said a national search for a replacement will begin as
soon as possible.

“Greater Fargo Moorhead has benefited immeasurably from Brian’s
intelligence, as well as his talent for bringing people with diverse goals together
to improve our communities,” Robson said. “He has done a great job of
positioning Greater Fargo Moorhead for the future, and we wish him well in his
new endeavor.”

When Walters joined the GFMEDC, he proceeded to redefine the
organization’s jobs creation mission, transitioning from a focus on the number of
jobs created to the quality of jobs for the citizens of Fargo and Cass County.

Walters also spearheaded the effort to bring Moorhead and Clay County,
Minn., into the FCCEDC’s service area. The goal was to enable Fargo,
Moorhead and the surrounding area to compete with other cities and
metropolitan statistical areas as a whole, with all its combined assets in the mix.
Previously, the communities had been marketing and recruiting outside
businesses individually, at times even competing directly with one another. The
endeavor culminated with the formation of the GFMEDC in 2006.

In that same year, he and the GFMEDC launched a strategic planning
initiative aimed at putting Greater Fargo Moorhead in a stronger position for
competing for businesses and jobs in emerging, high-tech industries such as
vaccine development and smart technologies. The result was the Cass/Clay
Economic Plan, portions of which have already been implemented.

“While I’m happy to be transitioning to a new stage in my career, the
decision to leave Greater Fargo Moorhead was difficult to make,” said Walters.
“This community is poised to become a significant player in exciting and
emerging fields, thanks to the hard work of GFMEDC board and staff members,
our partners in the business and education communities and people at all levels
of government who have provided assistance along the way. It’s been an honor
to work with every one of them.”

The GFMEDC strives to enhance economies in Cass County, N.D. and
Clay County, Minn. communities by attracting, expanding and retaining primarysector
businesses. Its primary objective is to facilitate the creation of primarysector
jobs. A primary-sector business is one that brings new dollars into a
community through the sale of its products and services outside of the trade
area. The primary sector is the foundation of an economy and the principal driver
of economic development.

Return to list