Editor’s note: This story has been updated
The board of directors of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) on Monday voted 15-to-1 to hire Stephen Moret, an economic development executive from Louisiana, as its next CEO and president.
Moret was named head of the state’s primary economic development marketing organization during a special board meeting in Richmond with only one board member, David Hudgins, dissenting. Hudgins nonetheless said Moret, who served as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development from 2008 until 2015, was eminently qualified.
“Right guy, wrong time,” Hudgins said, referring to a scathing report on VEDP released two weeks ago by the state’s oversight agency.
