County Department of Economic Development Appoints New Director of Existing Business

The following is from a prepared statement by Brent Heavner, the communications manager for PWC's Department of Economic Development:

"The Prince William County Department of Economic Development is pleased to announce the addition of George N. Harben to its team. Harben joins the Department as its new Director of Existing Business. In this role, Harben will spearhead the County’s program of outreach to promote the expansion and retention of businesses within Prince William County.

'The robust and vibrant existing business community has been a key driver of the incredible growth that Prince William County has experienced over the course of the last decade,' said Harben. 'Since the inception of the County’s Department of Economic Development, more than 35 percent of the projects worked by the Department and nearly 30 percent of the new jobs announced via those projects were created by the expansion of existing businesses within the County.'

'Prince William County has long been a leader in job growth, business expansion and business attraction. I fully expect these trends to accelerate in the future and look forward to being a part of the continued growth of this premier community,' said Harben.

Harben, who has more than 20 years of leadership experience in Economic Development, was named to the position of Director of Existing Business after an extensive candidate search. He fills the position which was vacated by the retirement of Mary Elsesser, who served the Department in that role since 1997.

'Mr. Harben was selected from a field of very strong candidates. The deep knowledge of and experience in economic development he brings to the table will make him an asset in our continued efforts to attract and retain capital investment and high-wage jobs to Prince William County,' said Martin J. Briley, Executive Director of Economic Development for Prince William County.

Prior to coming to Prince William County Harben was the Vice President of the Greater Paducah Economic Development Council.  Previously, Harben managed the South Carolina Department of Commerce Research Division and served as the Director of Research for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Mr. Harben holds a B.A. and M.S. from Texas Christian University and in 1997 earned the Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) designation from the International Economic Development Council.  He earned the Council for Community and Economic Research (formerly ACCRA) Certified Community Researcher (CCR) designation in 2003."