"There's an opportunity now to look at attracting office users because there's a real competitive market now," Rollins tells GlobeSt.com. "Austin has a national reputation as a good place to do business and live. We've got to get with the commercial real estate people, look at what strategies we can begin to implement, look at resources and work as a team to get some of the vacancy rate down."

Rollins' selection was announced this week by the chamber. He was president of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce for 12 years. He left that job early in the year to accept an assignment for his mentor in New Orleans. When his mentor left his job in New Orleans, Rollins left his. Rollins starts Dec. 16 in Austin.

He says the city should continue to diversify its economy, working from its strengths.During his dozen years in Nashville, the region attracted more than 160 companies, creating more than 190,000 jobs. One of those companies was Austin-based Dell Computer Corp., which has a major manufacturing center in the Nashville area.

Rollins replaces Mark Hazelwood, who in September said that he would not extend his three-year commitment.

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