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A big challenge awaits.

That's the consensus of many state business leaders of what lies ahead for whoever succeeds David W. Edgerley as secretary of the Department of Business and Economic Development.

Edgerley announced his resignation this week, effective Jan. 30, after almost two years on the job.

"The reality of the economic situation we're in is that Maryland is looking at a multibillion-dollar hole to fill and it will be a challenging time for the [General Assembly] session coming up," said Edward M. Rudnic, chairman of the Tech Council of Maryland.

"Whoever replaces him will have to work within that reality. A lot of things can be pushed — tax credits, incentives — that are not cash giveaways, and those will be more the vehicles in the coming years, I think," Rudnic said. "Whoever takes the job will have to be creative to make things work to get companies to come to the state."

Edgerley, 57, said this week he will leave DBED to work in the private sector. The Germantown resident offered no specifics about future employment, but said the resignation was of his own choosing.

"I have always harbored an interest to eventually pursue a career in the private/education sectors. I have decided that now is the right time to being that new chapter," he said in an e-mail to his staff on Tuesday.

Over the holidays he will consider about five business opportunities, Edgerley said in an interview with The Gazette this week.

"There is strong interest from a number of places, with people I've worked with for a number of years," he said. "I've always been drawn to the private sector. I had to be convinced to take this job to begin with. I almost went to the private sector when I left Montgomery County."

O'Malley tapped Edgerley to succeed Aris Melissaratos as DBED chief in February 2007, shortly after Edgerley was dismissed as Montgomery County's economic development head by new County Executive Isiah Leggett (D).

Edgerley headed up the county's department for 12 years under then-County Executive Douglas M. Duncan. Earlier, Edgerley was chief of Allegany County's economic development department.

Since then, Edgerley has maintained his residence in Germantown and commuted to Baltimore.

"That's significant because the demands of this position, being a member of the cabinet, require a considerable commitment of time away from home," Edgerley said. "I have three generations of family at home, and working hours away in commuting time is difficult."

No time frame has been determined to pick Edgerley's successor, according to a spokeswoman for O'Malley.

"There will be a recruitment process, but nothing has begun at this point," she said. Edgerley said this week that he "hasn't talked to the governor" about it, but if asked he will offer recommendations.

‘Consummate professional'

to be missed

Business leaders around the state praised Edgerley's work.

"David Edgerley has worked hard for many years to advance economic development in both Montgomery County and the state of Maryland," said Georgette Godwin, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, "He will be missed. We wish him well in his future pursuits."

"The Maryland chamber will greatly miss David," said Kathleen T. Snyder, president and CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. "His economic development experience in Western Maryland, Montgomery County and as secretary of DBED helped advance job growth and business investment, particularly in the biotech field. We very much appreciate his support in repealing the tech tax last year."

"I think Secretary Edgerley has for many years been a consummate economic development professional," said Donald C. Fry, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. "He should be commended for his efforts to create jobs and help economic development throughout the state. He has certainly set the table for some real progress in the future in the new economy areas of life sciences and international activity for the state."

"I think Dave's done as good a job as anyone could do," Rudnic said. "Remember, they have been in a significant deficit since he took over that job."

Whatever his next move, Edgerley's experience will serve him well, said Del. Brian J. Feldman, chairman of Montgomery County's House delegation.

"My work with David predates his DBED tenure to his time in Montgomery County. He has a legacy from that period of being a biotech champion and building up our incubator network here," said Feldman (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac.

Within Montgomery County, Edgerley has been credited with shepherding the county's biotech industry into one of the most recognized in the country, as well as helping Duncan establish the county's extensive business incubator system. In his parting comments, Edgerley touted these same types of projects that his department accomplished at the state level, including the Maryland Biotechnology Center, a new International Division, an aggressive tourism program, arts programs and new businesses around the state.

Under Edgerley's leadership, O'Malley launched the BIO 2020 Initiative in June, which includes a $1.3 billion investment in the state's bioscience industry over the next 10 years.

"I think [Edgerley] should be proud of the achievements he made in the state, especially in times when he didn't have a lot of money to work with," Feldman said. "It's a challenging time to be secretary of that agency. It's not going to be easy to come up with issues that will be funded at the level that need to be funded to take us to the next level where Maryland needs to be."

Looking ahead

Feldman is recommending that O'Malley choose Edgerley's successor from Montgomery County.

"Looking forward it would make a lot of sense to fill the spot with someone else from Montgomery County, where a lot of the economic development is happening, especially in the technology sector, which the state seems to be focused on," he said.

"The challenges for [Edgerley's successor] will certainly be budget-related, given the economic situation, but economic development programs are certainly necessary, Fry said. "We need to have the right tools, like work force training, and certain types of incentives for companies to locate here. Hopefully the governor will leave those programs as intact as possible, because they do help leverage state economic development, because they do give a return on investment."

"I don't know what the governor's office is thinking about, but I'm sure they'd like to get somebody in as soon as possible because of the upcoming legislative session," Fry added.

When asked about veteran county economic development directors such as Richard W. Story of Howard County, David S. Iannucci, himself a former DBED secretary, of Baltimore County, and Robert L. Hannon of Anne Arundel County as possible successors, Fry declined to comment, saying only, "They have been longtime economic development directors, and they are working hard, doing fine jobs in their counties."

"The next DBED leader will need to focus on job retention in Maryland," Snyder said. "We are in tough economic times, despite our proximity to the nation's capital. We need a secretary who will continue to work closely with the Maryland chamber and other groups to promote public policy that will help create jobs and kick-start our economy."

Jorge Ribas, president and CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, mentioned priorities the state can improve upon.

While wishing Edgerley well, Ribas said, "Unfortunately, county and state economic priorities in Maryland have not been oriented to small businesses and the Hispanic business community and small businesses in general have been largely ignored. Particularly in this depressed economic environment, there is a real need to transfer some of these feckless programs that purport to serve minority businesses to chambers of commerce and trade organizations that are, by definition, closer to the ground and tend to be held more accountable by their membership."

Rudnic said retaining companies, bringing in new companies and implementing work force initiatives should all be priorities.

"All three are important," he said. "The key thing is the creation of companies, and making the state as hospitable as we can for companies to locate in the state. Most jobs created are done by small companies and startups, so if you're looking for job creation, it's best to look at making sure we have the best environment for creating startups."