Golden Triangle Development LINK looking for new CEO
Local leaders say they want the new LINK CEO to be someone who can carry the organizations 20-year momentum forward.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The question many in the region have been asking is what happened with Joe Max Higgins at the Golden Triangle Development LINK.
There are no official answers on the record, only that he’s no longer the CEO.
Multiple sources tell WCBI the decision came after a human resources issue.
Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Bill Cork said in a statement to WCBI, “This appears to be a local HR matter and a decision by the LINK board.”
Whatever the reason, area elected leaders are hoping the region’s economic development success doesn’t slow down.
Over the years the Golden Triangle Development LINK has helped to grow the Golden Triangle, said Mayor of Starkville Lynn Spruill.
“The impact has been dramatic,” Mayor Spruill said. “Joe Max Higgins was the driving force behind it. He was successful when it was strictly in Lowndes County. And those of us who were sitting over here in Oktibbeha County and Clay County were jealous. And we wanted to get some of that success coming our way. And we believed that he could do that. And so, you know, that formation of the LINK was critical to create that opportunity for us to share in Joe Max’s ability to sell the entire region.”
The LINK, as it’s colloquially known, is partly responsible for much of the region’s development.
From manufacturing plants to workforce development to community issues, the organization’s goal is clear: growth is good.
Lynn Horton, Clay County Supervisor for District 1 said before the LINK got involved, West Point was struggling.
“We was like the highest unemployment rate,” Horton said. “And Joe Max stepped in and he was a game changer. The attitude that he instilled in West Point and Clay County was that we always thought we were going to win.”
Mayor Spruill said this partnership is important because each city in the Golden Triangle is unique.
“Each one of us has our own personality, our own assets, our own ability to draw people,” Mayor Spruill said. “And so, those things create a lot more opportunity for us to sell every sort of asset that belongs to each one of the communities- in ways that you don’t have if you’re dealing with only one county or only one city.”
But the LINK is unlinking from it’s longtime CEO Joe Max Higgins.
Mayor Spruill said the vacuum Higgins left is troubling.
“Somebody’s got to push them forward,” Mayor Spruill said. “And I don’t know that there are enough people there to continue that that juggling act without someone who is in the lead, so to speak. And someone who’s got sufficient staff underneath them to move it forward.”
Trip Hairston, Lowndes County supervisor of District 2 said even though this change was unexpected- progress will continue.
“Things are not going to stop because you don’t have a figurehead,” Hairston said. “Rest assured that for the taxpayer, and for me who lives in Lowndes County, that I am very well assured that the work has not stopped.”
Spruill hopes Higgins’s replacement will be a dynamic individual who understands the local landscape, politics, and investor trust.
“Somebody who can reach out to CEOs and talk to them and make them see what we see in our region and to sell that,” Mayor Spruill said. “So it is a it is a huge set of shoes to fill.”
Hairston said the new CEO must be well versed in economic development.
“Not only do you have to be energetic and be personable,” Hairston said. “You also have to know economic development. And that’s key. You have to know the players.”
Leaders across the Golden Triangle agree, the next CEO of The Golden Triangle Development LINK will be someone truly unique.
MDA says it will work with the LINK to find a new CEO.
