Billingsley worked the for board in the mid-1990s as business development manager. He arrives just as Downtown is entering a $1 billion redevelopment phase.

His job, which begins May 1, entails marketing, promoting, researching and searching for new growth opportunities in the central business district, work he has previously done at the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce in the late 1980s.

The 44-year-old Lynchburg, VA native moves into his new post directly from the city where he was director of the permitting services office. He previously worked for Orlando-based Real Estate Research Consultants Inc. where Kohler now works as a senior vice president, reporting to owner Bill Owens.