The president and CEO of the London Economic Development Corporation has announced he is stepping down.
Peter White has been in the position since 2007. His new job will be as the executive director of government relations and strategic partnerships for Western University. It will be effective Aug. 19.
“Peter has provided outstanding leadership and vision to economic development in London,” says LEDC board chair Gerald Slemko. “He has worked tirelessly through some very challenging times.”
At Western, White will identify new partnership opportunities in line with Western’s strategic goals and objectives. He will also assume the lead in coordinating multi-stakeholder projects.
“Western is a major economic pillar for London,” says White. “It is important to continue to build on strategic partnerships that play an increasingly important role in advancing research and responding to real-world issues at a local, national and international level.”
Under White’s leadership, the LEDC has been recognized four times as one of the top economic development organizations in Canada.
"It's always difficult when you're going through difficult times. You know there's going to be criticism, but we try to stay focuses on a strong plan," says White on his outgoing position.
The news comes at a time when London's jobless rate sits at nearly 10 per cent and remains the highest among large Canadian cities.
City councillor Joni Baechler says White was held to unreasonable expectations.
"The mayor made a promise of 10,000 jobs in the last election. The closer it gets to the next election, that seems to be front and centre. Couple that with the unemployment rate and that's a lot of pressure on Peter," says Baechler.
But London Mayor Joe Fontana brushes off the suggestion, "I feel confident that London's best days are ahead and that we are going to get from 9.8 (unemployment rate) to seven."
Kapil Lakhotia has been named interim general manager reporting to the board, while the search for a new president and CEO is conducted. Kapil has led LEDC’s investment attraction portfolio for over 10 years.
