The Greater Phoenix Economic Council is losing its top executive to California, the organization said in a statement Thursday evening.
Barry Broome, GPEC’s president and CEO, announced his departure to the group’s board of directors executive committee on Thursday morning, confirming weeks of rumors that he was being recruited to lead a newly-formed GPEC-like organization in Sacramento.
“It is extremely bittersweet to think of leaving the Greater Phoenix region,” Broome said in the statement. “I am proud of the work we have done as an organization, and it has been a tremendous honor to work with the board over the years. I am grateful for the friendships I have gained, and it has been a privilege professionally to see both the market and the talent within GPEC mature.”
Chris Camacho, GPEC’s executive vice president who has been with the organization since 2008, will step in as interim president until Broome’s permanent replacement is found.
Broome is considered one of the most influential business and economic development leaders in the Valley. During his nearly 10-year tenure, GPEC has helped attract more than 260 companies and almost 50,000 jobs to the Phoenix area, plus billions of dollars in capital investments to the region, the statement said.
“We have benefited as a region and a state having Barry leading economic development in Greater Phoenix,” Don Smith, GPEC’s chairman and also president and CEO of CopperPoint Mutual, said in the statement. “GPEC has solidified its reputation nationally under Barry’s direction, and is widely considered a model for other organizations."
