42 apply for Business Council CEO job
DATELINE: CHEYENNE Wyo.
Some applicants for the job of leading the Wyoming Business Council have excellent qualifications, while others obviously don't fit, a co-chairman of the Business Council board says.
Forty-two people from Canada, throughout the United States and even the Republic of Congo have applied to become the Business Council's chief executive officer.
Current CEO Tucker Fagan has held the job for six years and is retiring at the end of June to go into business with his sons. Fagan has been making $151,720 a year. The pay range for the new CEO will be $125,000 to $175,000 a year.
Bill Britz, co-chairman of the Business Council board, said the council used a number of electronic databases and ads in the Wall Street Journal to recruit for the position.
A search committee will begin screening applications in early April and will choose three or four candidates to interview. The full Business Council and Gov. Dave Freudenthal will participate in the final interviews, Britz said.
Britz said part of the selection process, at least once the finalists are named, could be opened to the public.
"We'll take it under consideration," he said Friday.
"We want to get the right person," he said. "We're looking for leaders who can work well with the Legislature, the governor and the Business Council staff."
He declined to say whether any Business Council staff had applied for the job.
Fagan serves on the search committee. He said the group would put the candidates in separate categories, such as for those who have background in business but no economic development experience and for those who don't fit the criteria at all.
Fagan said the main criteria are management and leadership skills.
He also said the new CEO should understand the ethic of Wyoming "and how you do things in Wyoming, which is very, very personal."
Other helpful qualifications include an ability to understand and work with cities, towns, counties, legislators and businesses.
"Not so much, in my opinion, the real technical side. More the human side and the management side," he said.
"You can teach economic development," he added. "You can teach the technical side."
Information from: Star-Tribune, http://www.casperstartribune.net