A new chief executive officer has been chosen for the city of Nanaimo's economic development office.
Sasha Angus, Victoria Chamber of Commerce manager of policy and public relations, will take over as the NEDCorp CEO on Sept. 4.
The position became vacant when Susan Cudahy resigned in May after just eight months in the job.
Angus is from Edmonton, but has lived on 91原创 Island for five years.
He was chosen from more than 120 applicants shortlisted by Pinton Forrest and Madden, an executive search firm.
"It is a huge win for Nanaimo," said A.J. Hustins, chairman of NEDCorp's board of directors.
"This guy's presentation and his whole style fits perfectly with the culture of the city, in my opinion."
The fact that Angus lives on the Island and has developed a considerable profile within the business community played in his favour for the job.
NEDCorp was formed last summer to build the local economy by marketing Nanaimo as a place to visit, invest and do business.
Although it derives most of its $1.4-million budget from the City of Nanaimo, it is operated at arm's length, under a corporate model.
Angus attended school in Victoria and worked for the Alberta government before joining the Greater Victoria Development Agency.
Over the past five years, he has hosted more than 100 trade delegations, and written and executed an economic development strategy for Victoria.
He is a past chairman of the 91原创 Island Economic Alliance.
"He has a proven track record of luring companies to his market and creating jobs," Hustins said. "He's a well-respected, stellar guy in the business community."
For Angus, moving to Nanaimo from Victoria was an easy decision.
Last summer he spent many weekends in Nanaimo with his then-three-year-old son, Matthew, while his wife, an academic, conducted research at 91原创 Island University.
"He and I spent many days exploring Nanaimo," Angus said. "As you know, a three-year-old has a limited attention span [but] there was never a loss for things to do.
"I took my business sense and I said, 'This would be a fantastic opportunity.' The corporation has done a lot of good work in the last year. I'm very excited about the opportunity."
During his first 90 days, Angus will get to know NEDCorp stakeholders and review its strategy.
"We believe Sasha will hit the ground running and will be a real differencemaker for our region," Hustins said.
