Published: Apr 22, 2022
CEP Announces New Chief Growth Officer
The Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership is pleased to announce its new Chief Growth Officer, Heather Shubirg.
“I am excited to join the CEP as the Chief Growth Officer and move to a thriving community. I am passionate about being part of a team that assists to provide job opportunities for the citizens of Florida and to represent the greater Ocala area,” said Heather Shubirg. “I am excited to continue to do great things in the community.”
Heather served as the Executive Vice President for Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership that works on strategic economic development activities and business recruitment initiatives for Volusia County, Florida. Prior to joining Team Volusia, Heather served as the Senior Director of Business Development in the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology sectors at the Orlando Economic Partnership. She also served as Vice President of Business Development of Enterprise Florida, the public/private partnership responsible for leading Florida’s statewide economic development efforts.
In her role, Heather oversaw a team of business development managers and associates whose sole responsibility was to attract and retain companies in Florida. She worked with state organizations and Enterprise Florida’s statewide economic development partners to research and identify appropriate programs and locations to attract and retain companies in Florida. In addition, she assisted in identifying state competitiveness issues for policy decisions and oversaw the development of competitive project proposal responses. Heather worked on numerous new-to-market projects, including Blue Origin’s with 330 new jobs and a $200 million capital investment and Northrop Grumman’s expansion of 1,800 jobs and a $500 million investment.
“As we were considering our new 5-year strategic plan, Forward Momentum, we recognized a need to align all of our Job and Business growth efforts and have it led on a day-to-day basis by an incredibly strong, experienced leader,” said CEP President/CEO Kevin T. Sheilley. “There is no one who is better able to lead these teams and advance the Forward Momentum plan than Heather Shubirg. She is one of the most well-respected economic development professionals in the Southeast and is an incredible addition to our team.”
As Chief Growth Officer, Shubirg will oversee the CEP’s Business Attraction (recruiting new primary employers), Business Retention (assisting existing employers), and Business Creation (entrepreneurship) teams. Among other objectives, she will be responsible for the Forward Momentum’s primary attraction goals of 1) impacting the announced creation of 5,000 new jobs; 2) those jobs will pay an average wage which is 15% higher than the County average; and 3) will result in a capital investment in the community of $1 Billion.
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The Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership was created to be a one-stop hub for the community’s business attraction, creation and retention efforts. The CEP’s mission is to be THE catalyst for a prosperous community. The 2020 National Chamber of the Year, the CEP has directly impacted the announced creation of nearly 10,000 new jobs and more than $1.2 billion in capital investment and is seeking an additional 5,000 jobs and $1 billion in investment by 2027. For more information, visit: www.OcalaCEP.com
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