TRENTON-The New Jersey Economic Development Authority chief Caren Franzini is leaving her 18-year-post on Sept. 30 to pursue private sector opportunities – and Michele Brown, a top advisor to Gov. Chris Christie, will take her old job.
The news emerged from this week’s EDA Board of Directors meeting, at which the board also approved a restructuring when Franzini goes. Tim Lizura, who is now a finance and development executive at the EDA, will take on new roles as president and chief operating officer when Brown becomes CEO.
“It is clear that in Caren, the EDA had a very unusual leader who was able to function very effectively at the strategic level as CEO, as well as a highly technical operating level,” said the board’s chairman, Al Koeppe, at a special meeting Tuesday. “She had the energy and deep skills to fill both roles superbly,” he said of Franzini, whose tenure business leaders have generally praised.
As Koeppe noted in answers to reporters’ questions after the meeting, Franzini also has been highly effective in working with leaders from both political parties.
When she alerted the chairman of her decision two months ago, Koeppe said he and Franzini determined together that reorganization was in order, especially since the agency’s role keeps expanding. The EDA administers the state’s tax grant programs that have spurred development in the face of severe economic strains over the past few years, as well as a slew of business incentives that were beefed under Christie’s Republican administration.
Last year the agency awarded a total of $882 million in economic development assistance, which brought 13,000 new jobs, according to the EDA.
Franzini was quoted after the announcement as saying she has been happy in her job, and simply decided it was “time” to move on. “You just wake up one day and say ‘I want to do something else,’” she told reporters, without saying whether she has a particular option in mind.
Brown, who was a federal prosecutor when Christie led the office as US Attorney and currently serves as Christie’s appointments adviser for cabinet-level and judicial posts, will become the EDA’s CEO on Oct. 1. She will be paid Franzini’s old salary, $225,000. Lizura will earn $205,000.
Brown weathered political controversy during Christie’s gubernatorial campaign. She left her prosecutor post – where she had joined her former boss in focusing on white-collar and financial fraud cases – after it was reported that Christie loaned her money to buy a house when her husband was unemployed. Brown then worked for a private law firm until joining the Christie administration.
Koeppe said he was comfortable supporting Brown for the new job because during the vetting process, those who knew her well spoke uniformly of her leadership skills and integrity.
In a statement, the governor said he will miss working with Franzini, but is confident she will lead the EDA to new achievements with her “honest, open and effective style.”
Lizura was commended by Koeppe for his significant role in developing the EDA’s current portfolio of programs. Also, the appointment of Maureen Hassett to replace Lizura as senior vice-president of finance and development was approved by the board.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
