JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) board unanimously selected its new CEO on Monday, following a marathon of interviews inside City Hall.
Colin Tarbert currently serves as President and CEO for the Baltimore Development Corporation and will now lead the DIA.
“I can kind of see the opportunity with clarity,” Tarbert told board members. “What you have done over the last 10 years, you’ve set it up for success and I think it would be awesome to get it there.”
Notably, none of the three finalists interviewed on Monday were local.
Lori Boyer has served in the role of DIA CEO since 2019, but is expected to retire at the end of the month.
Tarbert answered questions from the board Monday afternoon, and his resume shows he has worked in the Mayor’s Office for the city of Baltimore, serving in several economic development roles.
Each candidate was asked a series of the same questions and given time to answer. The chair of the committee overseeing the search noted that the finalists were all from out of state, and said that was a preference.
“I think having someone with Mr. Tarbert’s expertise as well as his experience in Baltimore for a long time. And seeing, you know, developments take a long time, change takes a long time, and he’s stuck there in Baltimore and saw it through. That type of experience is really valuable for where we are right now in downtown,” said Sondra Fetner, Chair of the Governance Committee.
Just to give you all an idea of what was asked of the three candidates, the questions covered topics like the long-range vision for downtown, working with a variety of stakeholders, and experience in driving the job.
Mayor Donna Deegan spoke to the finalists Monday morning.
“My hope is that this is somebody who works very well with the development community, very well with the community, open, transparent, and as apolitical as possible. That’s always the hope for me. Because really, what we should all be moving toward is, you know, how much can we move downtown forward? How much can we make it successful? And I think that’s what I’m looking for in the next iteration. We’re going to miss Lori, you know, but it’ll be great. It’ll be great to see the vision of the next person,” Deegan said.
After Tarbert was picked, Deegan said it was clear he “has the experience, vision and passion needed to build on our fast-growing momentum in downtown Jacksonville,” and she looks forward to working with him.
Contract negotiations are expected to go on for the next couple of weeks.
Tarbert said he would focus during his first 90 days on getting up to speed on projects, meeting local business and community leaders and working to optimize the DIA staff. Next priorities would include honing the DIA’s promotional and marketing messages to show the community what it does, how to connect with the organization and why Downtown investment is a value proposition for investors.
Boyer is expected to stay on and work in a part-time capacity for a period of time, potentially as a consultant.
The other finalists were Lara L. Fritts, division director of the Frederick County Department of Economic Opportunity in Maryland, and Danny Chavez, former chief economic development officer for the city of Waco, Texas.
