Latimer Appoints Gibbons as Director of Office of Economic Development
John Jordan | October 10, 2018
WHITE PLAINS— Westchester County Executive George Latimer has decided to hire from within county government’s ranks and appointed Bridget Gibbons as the new Director of the Office of Economic Development.
Gibbons had served as the county’s Deputy Director of Economic Development since Latimer took office in January 2018. She was the guest speaker at the Sept. 17 meeting of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors’ Commercial Investment Division meeting held at the HGAR offices in White Plains.
Latimer in his announcement on Oct. 10, said of his appointment of Gibbons, “Westchester County is extremely fortunate to have an individual of Bridget Gibbons’ caliber lead the Office of Economic Development. Over the past 10 months as Deputy Director, Bridget has demonstrated an astute ability and a clear understanding of this vitally important office. She has shown that she has the vision to focus on initiatives that effectively attract and retain businesses and create jobs, while at the same time assuring that all of Westchester’s citizens are able to share in our economic success.
He added, “Her experience and success as a management executive, an entrepreneur and a private sector business owner add to her breadth and depth of knowledge and insight.”
Since January, Gibbons also assumed the role of heading both the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency and the Westchester County Local Development Corporation. The two agencies offer business resources, financial assistance and a wide range of related services and incentives to help businesses and not-for-profits expand through construction and permanent jobs.
Latimer praised Gibbons, a resident of Bronxville, for her work as head of the IDA and LDC, pointing to her successful outreach to the not-for-profit and business communities in Westchester.
Since taking office in January, the county’s Office of Economic Development and its Industrial Development Agency and Local Development Corp. have seen a host of new development projects seeking county assistance, including a planned more than $300-million senior housing development at SUNY Purchase and major mixed-use projects in Downtown White Plains by Lennar Multifamily on a site on Mamaroneck Ave. and a transformative mixed-use development on Westchester Avenue called “The Collection.” The $136-million project, to be built across the street from the Westchester mall by Sabre Chauncy, WP, LLC will feature 276 units of rental housing and nearly 25,000 square feet of retail space. The latest major project to come before the IDA was the $200-million redevelopment of the former AT&T building in White Plains.
“I would like to thank the County Executive for this opportunity to lead the Westchester County Office of Economic Development. In this past year, I have had the good fortune to meet many truly inspired and dedicated business leaders to see first-hand the great potential for economic development and job creation throughout Westchester,” Gibbons said. “I look forward to working with our business and not-for-profit communities to realize these goals and ensure that Westchester continues to be a strong and vital hub for business.”
Gibbons was founder and owner of Gibbons Digital Consultants, a digital marketing agency. The company helped a wide variety of industries in the tri-state area leverage social media as a business development tool, providing a full-range of services from comprehensive, long-term strategy to daily social media management on Facebook and all other platforms.
Her company was recognized by the Advertising Club of Westchester, winning awards for its work with Facebook and e-mail management. In 2014, Gibbons was recognized for her leadership and management skills, and 914Inc. magazine named her one of Westchester County’s “Best Bosses.” After nine years, her company was acquired by a larger marketing agency in White Plains.
Prior to launching her digital business, Gibbons spent 15 years as a senior consultant and project manager for Towers Watson, a global human resources and benefits consulting firm, where she managed large, multi-national project teams to implement complex, web-based systems. Her clients included JPMorgan Chase, IBM, Molson Coors and Accenture.
Gibbons holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies from American University in Washington DC, and certificates in computer technology from Columbia University and in Social Media from New York University.
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