Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday it was his prerogative to set aside three finalists picked through a search process and instead name interim CEO Reed Hall to the WEDC’s top post.
The governor said he set up the search process in the first place and consulted with the WEDC Board “because I wanted the board to have a more active role in that.”
Walker also said “a number of members” of the WEDC search committee asked him to interview Hall as a possibility even though the search committee identified three finalists. They were: Ralph Howard, former VP of specialty brands for W.W. Grainger; Jason Jensen, formerly of Parts Now!; and Michael Jenkins, managing director of Denali Ventures.
“While I thought highly of them, it became abundantly clear to me that our best candidate for the permanent CEO of the WEDC was Reed Hall,” Walker said at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce offices in Milwaukee.
Walker said he had talked personally with every member of the WEDC board of directors, “and ultimately got overwhelming support” for his decision to hire Hall. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha and a board member, was lukewarm about the pick, saying he had hoped for someone with more economic development experience.
Hall said he didn’t seek the post permanently because he had come out of retirement to accept Walker’s invitation to become the interim CEO last fall.
Hall, 64, is an attorney who worked 36 years for Marshfield Clinic. He was named interim CEO after Paul Jadin announced he was leaving the job to head the Madison regional development group Thrive.
“As I’ve stayed with the organization, it continues to be a very interesting organization, and I’ve grown quite fond of a lot of people who are working real hard,” Hall said.
Hall said he was paid $120,000 a year as interim CEO, adding he didn’t know if he would get a raise for accepting the permanent position
Hall said he plans to continue to focus on attracting out-of-state companies to relocate to Wisconsin but would also “nurture existing companies” and would work to seek venture capital funds, loans and other incentives to encourage start-ups.
See the WisBusiness press release page for reaction from state trade groups.
— By Kay Nolan
WisBusiness.com
