Wilmington Downtown Inc. (WDI) has a new CEO: the former head of Downtown Greensboro Inc.
Ed Wolverton left the Greensboro post July 1 when his contract there expired, according to the Triad-area Business Journal; on Monday, the WDI Board of Directors announced his hire here and noted his “broad experience in running downtown organizations, his commitment to economic development and his dedication to consensus building.”
WDI officials were working on a start date for Wolverton at the time of the announcement.
“He and his wife will need some time to make the move from Greensboro but we hope to have him interacting with the downtown community this month, and here full time no later than November 1st,” said an email from Clark Hipp, WDI Board of Directors chairman.
A press conference with Wolverton is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday in Front Street’s Bijou Park. (This is an update from a previous version of the story describing Wolverton’s schedule in Wilmington.)
WDI, a public-private partnership, is a nonprofit that began in 1977 as Downtown Area Revitalization Effort, or DARE. “Today, the six main areas of focus for WDI are business recruitment, business retention, quality of life, developer services, fundraising and public outreach,” says its website.
Monday’s release said Wolverton has 28 years of experience in downtown groups and economic development. “During his tenure, Downtown [Greensboro] attracted over $290 million in new investment including both commercial and residential projects,” said WDI. “Prior to Greensboro, he was President of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation in Kansas, where he led efforts that helped stimulate over $500 million in new investment over his tenure.”
WDI’s release quotes of Wolverton, “I am excited and humbled to be selected for the position. There is tremendous growth and activity already underway in Downtown Wilmington and I am eager to work with the WDI Board of Directors, City leaders and Downtown business and property owners to attract even more investment and interest to the area.”
