The Miami-Dade Beacon Council has announced that economic development veteran Michael A. Finney is the organization’s new president and CEO effective June 1.
Finney, who has dedicated his 30-plus-year career to job creation and economic development, becomes the organization’s fifth president in its 32-year history as Miami-Dade County’s official economic development organization.
Jaret L. Davis, co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Miami office and volunteer chair of the public-private organization, led the 11-member Search Committee made up of a diverse group of business and community leaders.
“We are thrilled to have such an experienced, well-respected, nationally recognized leader in economic development as our new president and CEO,” Davis said. “Our committee conducted an exhaustive, inclusive and comprehensive local and national search to identify the right leader to propel the Miami-Dade Beacon Council to the next level.”
“Mike excels in all three prongs of our Market-Grow-Shape strategy; he is experienced in marketing major cities and states to the world; he has helped grow and scale-up local companies, and he has created programs to ensure all communities have the opportunity to share in economic prosperity.
Finney served as president and CEO of local and state economic development organizations including Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Ann Arbor SPARK, and the Greater Rochester Enterprise, public-private organizations similar in scope and mission to the Miami-Dade Beacon Council.
In addition to serving as the chief economic development executive for the State of Michigan, he was the senior advisor for economic growth for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Michigan is considered a leader in deploying innovative initiatives — for example, Pure Michigan Business Connect facilitated more than $3.5 billion in contracts for local companies; Community Ventures connected 4,500 structurally unemployed persons (those unemployed due to shifts in the economy unrelated to business cycles) to employment opportunities.
As president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, he had significant success in developing an innovation ecosystem that helped grow local companies and attract new businesses such as Google Ad Words and Barracuda Networks from California and Aernnova Engineering from Spain — major coups in burnishing Ann Arbor’s brand in technology.
Finney also served as CEO for Greater Rochester (NY) Enterprise. Finney started his career in the private sector including 13 years with Thomson Saginaw Ball Screw Company, a manufacturer of power transmission products for aerospace, defense and related industries.
The Search Committee has been working since November with the assistance of Korn Ferry International, a nationally recognized executive search firm with proficiency in economic development placements. In total, the group reviewed more than 200 resumes from the local community and around the country, and conducted face-to-face meetings with more than a dozen candidates.
“I am happy to welcome Michael Finney to our community as the new president and CEO of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez who chairs the council’s One Community One Goal Initiative with two private sector leaders.
“I am confident that he will build upon the strong foundation for business growth and economic diversification we have created for Miami-Dade’s continued trajectory as one of the world’s great global communities,” he added. “In fact, just this week, Miami was recognized by fDI Magazine as one of the top 10 Major American Cities of the Future for 2017.”
Finney said, in response to his selection, “There is a sense of optimism and enthusiasm for Miami that was palpable from my meetings with the committee members and community leaders. I am enthusiastic about stepping into one of the most well-respected economic development organizations in the country. My immediate priority will be listening, learning, and doing what it takes to get to know the community and its diverse set of stakeholders.”
For more information,visit www.beaconcouncil.com.
