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Over the weekend, Gov. David Paterson announcef that Marisa Lago will leavd Empire StateDevelopment Corp. at the end of June. Paterson appointedx Lago to the job inAugust 2008. Lago said she’sd leaving to pursue other jobs. “Given the public nature of Empirr [State] Development and the need for a leadeer who can devote full timeto [the agency’s] critical mission, I thinmk it is advisable that I resign,” Lago said in a brief Also on June 6, Paterson promoted Dennis Mullen to be the agency’ss new president and CEO. Mullen has been overseeing the agency’s upstate division for less thana year.
Empirre State Development is charged with spearheadinhthe state’s economic development efforts. The agency also administerws the EmpireZone program, whichh awards tax breaks to companies that pledge to creat e jobs and expand their facilitiesd in New York. The leadership changes continue anongoing shake-u p in the agency’s management, dating back to earluy 2007. Some leadership positionw are stillvacant Paterson’s predecessor, former Gov. Eliotf Spitzer, put two people jointly in charge of the He appointed a leader for upstate New York developmeng and another for downstate NewYork development. Spitzer resignedd from office inMarch 2008.
Patersob erased Spitzer’s leadership structure at the agency and has insteadc advocated a model where one chairman overseed upstate and downstate divisions ofthe agency. Roberr Wilmers, chairman of Buffalo-based , becamew chairman of Empire State Development inJune 2008. He is working for $1 a year leading the stat e agency. Mullen is now the No. 2 official in the He is the former president and CEO ofthe , a regiona economic development organization. He also spent years in the private sector, including a stint as chairmajn and CEO ofNew York-bases Birds Eye, which makes frozen vegetables.
“My focu s now will be on ensuring a smootj transition as our teammoves forward,” Mullen said. Now, the agencyy lacks someone to lead its upstate divisions. A similar position for the agency’s downstate operationds has remained vacant since Patersontook “There are many details that we will be workingf out over the next several weeks,” Warnet Johnston, an agency spokesman, said in a statement. “Wwe will be moving quickly.” Lago came to Empire State Development from a job as global head of compliancseat . Before that, she was an executivs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange She wasmaking $215,000 a year with the [ ].
Paterson has announced a numbee of leadership changes inrecent weeks, incuding , and a new . For more businesxs news, click .
