The former president of Lambton College will be stepping in as interim chief executive officer of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership in the new year.
The current CEO, Stephen Thompson, recently announced his resignation, effective January 4, 2022.
Katherine Walker, chair of the board of directors for the Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership, said Thompson will be missed.
"[Thompson] has had an opportunity be presented to him so he has chosen to take it," said Walker. "He's brought a lot of resources in his time while he was with us. [He had] a different perspective because he was from outside the community and we are going to miss him."
Thompson was hired as CEO in 2017.
Walker said a committee has been formed to develop a job criteria and recruit someone for the permanent CEO position.
"Certainly it would be wonderful if someone local is qualified but we will be doing a search far and wide to find the right person to fill the position," she said.
Walker said economic development is "a long game" that will require a long list of skills from potential hires.
"Sarnia-Lambton is very diverse as far as its sectors so it's a tall order and investment attraction in the climate like we're faced with is something that someone would have to be able to demonstrate the ability to be very visionary and resourceful."
In the meantime, Judith Morris will step in as interim CEO. Morris retired as president of Lambton College earlier this year.
"We're very grateful that she has retired from the college because frankly, I didn't expect her to be available since she was just newly retired," said Walker. "The board had a discussion about filling the position on an interim basis because of the need and [Morris] came to mind because she's well known in the community."
Morris was also recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities.
The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership is a community-based public-private organization formed to advance economic opportunities in the region.