By Jeremy Duda
Arizona Capitol Times
Months before the Arizona Commerce Authority’s prolonged CEO search ended with the selection of Sandra Watson, five candidates were interviewed for the position, including one with years of experience running statewide economic development groups.
DHR International, the search firm hired by the ACA, provided a list of 10 candidates to the authority, five of who were interviewed for the position. The authority rejected the list of candidates in May and subsequently asked Watson, the ACA’s second-in-command who was preparing to take over as interim CEO, to submit her resume.
One of the interviewees, Donald Jakeway, had extensive experience running statewide economic development groups. Jakeway served as director of the state-run Ohio Department of Development from 1991 to 1997, and headed the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a public-private organization with a similar structure as the ACA, from 2003 to 2006.
Continued: (Subscription only)
