ALLIANCE NAMES NORFOLK CITY MANAGER DOUG SMITH AS ITS NEW PRESIDENT & CEO

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA – (JUNE 27, 2019) With unanimous support from its Board of Directors, Douglas L. Smith,Norfolk’s City Manager has been named the President & CEO of the Hampton Roads Economic DevelopmentAlliance (the Alliance) beginning September 2019.Alliance Chair, Brian Skinner, shared the news following a vote at the Board’s June 27 meeting. “There is simply noone more qualified for the job than Doug, who has an impeccable record of accomplishment and integrity in ourcommunity, in both the public and private sectors.” says Skinner. “He knows and loves economic development. Heknows how to bring together people and organizations to work towards a common goal. And he loves our region.”Smith, a native of Portsmouth, has lived and worked in Hampton Roads for the majority of his life. He was appointedas City Manager in the city of Norfolk in June 2017 after serving in the position for seven months as interim. Hisprevious public sector experiences include serving as Deputy City Manager in the city of Virginia Beach and asDeputy City Manager, Chief Plans and Policy Officer, and Economic Development Director in the city of Portsmouth.Additionally, Smith was elected to the Portsmouth City Council in 2006, where he served four years and gainedregional experience as commissioner for the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization and theHampton Roads Planning District Commission.In the private sector, Smith served as president & CEO of Kaufman & Canoles Consulting, where he counselednational and local developers, municipalities, higher education institutions and corporations. Smith began his careerin 1985 as a banker at First Union Bank (now part of Wells Fargo) where he worked for 12 years and managed 31offices across Hampton Roads.Smith is a graduate of Norfolk Academy and earned a B.A. in History from the University of Virginia. He currentlyserves as Vice Chair on the Alliance’s Board of Directors and previously served as Chair of the Urban Land Institute(ULI) of Hampton Roads and Chair of Future of Hampton Roads. He and his wife Linda reside in Norfolk with theirtwo children.The Alliance’s Interim President & CEO, Steve Herbert, said the following about his successor, “I have known andworked with Doug for the past twenty years and consider him a friend. He has a history of success in the HamptonRoads region and I have full confidence that he will continue to build and reposition the Alliance as a leading regionaleconomic development organization.”Please join us in congratulating Doug Smith and welcome him to the Hampton Roads Economic DevelopmentAlliance. Additional questions can be directed to Brian Skinner, Alliance board chair at chair@hreda.com.