Greenfield leaves Arundel post to become Howard's staff chief

BYLINE: Joe Bacchus

Aaron J. Greenfield will leave his post as president and CEO of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. to be chief of staff for the incoming Howard County executive. Executive-elect Ken Ulman, who has known Greenfield since they took a class together at the University of Maryland, College Park, said Greenfield's experiences in business and government make him ideal to be the county's first-ever chief of staff.

Greenfield will assume the new position Dec. 5. "He's got a wonderful commitment to policy," Ulman said. "He likes solving challenges. " Among those challenges will be how to prepare the county for the predicted influx of new residents that will come as a result of the recent Base Realignment and Closure process, or BRAC. Ulman said the county has issues of transportation and land use to address, and Greenfield's experience with helping Anne Arundel deal with BRAC should translate well. "It's bittersweet for Anne Arundel County, but it's definitely Howard County's gain," said Janet S. Owens, Anne Arundel's outgoing county executive. Owens lost to Peter Franchot in the Democratic primary for state comptroller. Republican John Leopold, who will replace Owens as county executive on Dec. 4, will appoint the next head of the economic development office. He could not be reached for comment yesterday. However, Owens said she had heard Robert L. Hannon and James E. Rzepkowski both mentioned as possible successors to Greenfield. Both are assistant secretaries in the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Aris Melissaratos, DBED's secretary, said he has been working to find new positions for his staff, depending on Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley's plan for DBED. "I'm trying to place most of my people in the right places," Melissaratos said. "I think either one would do a great job. " Greenfield has been in contact with Ulman since the general election, acting as an informal advisor to the transition, Ulman said. The two had been looking for a chance to work together, Greenfield added. Greenfield said while he sees "good things to come" in the Howard County position, he'll miss working for Anne Arundel County. In his tenure, which began in March of this year, Greenfield said he was most proud of his BRAC preparation and helping the Chesapeake Innovation Center defense industry incubator turn itself around. "I'm sorry I won't see all these things continue, but I'll certainly be watching them from afar," Greenfield said. Laura A. Neuman, interim executive director for the CIC, said Greenfield was "instrumental in righting the ship" at the incubator, which was running at a deficit. Greenfield added accountability goals for the CIC's business plan and also brought in Neuman to head the incubator, she said. In addition to naming Greenfield as chief of staff, Ulman also announced yesterday he has picked Lonnie Robbins to be the county's chief administrative officer. Robbins, a 17-year veteran of Howard County government, is currently the deputy chief administrative officer.