ECONOMIC PRIORITIES
CEO MacKenzie sets goals
Stephen MacKenzie, the new CEO of the local economic development corporation, plans to waste little time setting updated goals for the organization.
Speaking Monday at a press conference announcing his appointment as CEO of the WindsorEssex Economic Development Corp., MacKenzie already knows what his first order of business will be when he starts Aug. 29.
“I’m not from the region, so I’ll be getting up to speed on the issues and the relationships,” said MacKenzie, a 53-year-old dual Canadian-American citizen who currently serves as executive director of an economic development corporation in Groton, Conn. “Economic development is a relationship business, so I’ll be meeting as many people as possible and getting to know the individual goals of different municipalities.
“It’s written right into the employment contract that after two months we would work together to update goals.”
MacKenzie first visited Windsor for a lacrosse tournament when he was 11 but hasn’t been back until hearing from an executive search firm about the development position. He likes what he has seen so far, including improved economic indicators.
MacKenzie started his economic development career in Nova Scotia, where he was born and raised. He worked in Belgium before moving 17 years ago to the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region Inc., a public-private agency.
He was hired in Windsor after a search that began in May. More than 100 candidates were considered, while five were selected for interviews.
MacKenzie will become the 10th person to run the troubled economic development corporation in 12 years, when Paul Bondy stepped down after 20 years at the helm. Much of the staff and the board resigned over the next few years, some citing political influence as the reason for leaving.
Drew Dilkens said at the press conference Monday that “the elephant in the room” was the agency’s turnover and that he believes MacKenzie represents a new beginning.
“Stephen did a lot of research and asked a lot of great questions,” Dilkens said. “And he threw it right on the table: ‘How can I be successful here knowing there has been a revolving door of CEOs?’
“And what I gave him, and what the warden gave him, and what the board chair gave him, was our commitment to work in a collaborative way. None of us like the turnover.”
Dilkens said replacing CEOs is a long process that sets the organization back. He believes that with recent investment in Windsor, and with the unemployment rate dropping from a Canadian high of 10 per cent to 6.2 per cent, things look good for the future.
“There was a lot of depth behind the answers Stephen provided in the interviews,” said Dilkens, who doesn’t foresee structural change at the development corporation. “You could tell there was experience there that some of the other candidates didn’t have. And it partly comes with age.”
Essex County Warden Tom Bain feels similarly hopeful with MacKenzie at the helm, especially given the funders have asked for a more tailored approach to economic development.
“You have to meet the needs of the county and the needs of the city,” Bain said. “Their needs are a little different than ours. We’re so heavily based on agriculture. But they’re not in the city.”
The WindsorEssex Economic Development Corp. — which helps attract and retain business locally — has 18 full-time staff members and operates on an annual budget of $2.5 million. The city provides about $1.2 million, while the county
provides almost $1 million.
MacKenzie’s salary was not disclosed at the press conference, though in the past the CEO’s remuneration has been listed at about $170,000.
MacKenzie will take over from Rakesh Naidu, who has served as interim CEO since last summer and who was praised by Dilkens, Bain and board chair Marty Komsa.
“Rakesh has been a stalwart in leading us through the last number of months,” said Komsa, who hopes Naidu will stay on at the development corporation. “I truly give him a lot of accolades for what he has done.”