October 10, 2018 -- Westchester County Executive George Latimer has added to his core leadership team with the appointment of Bridget Gibbons as Director of the Office of Economic Development. Gibbons has served as County’s Deputy Director of Economic Development since Latimer took office in January 2018.
Latimer said: “Westchester County is extremely fortunate to have an individual of Bridget Gibbons’ caliber lead the Office of Economic Development. Over the past 10 months as Deputy Director, Bridget has demonstrated an astute ability and a clear understanding of this vitally important office. She has shown that she has the vision to focus on initiatives that effectively attract and retain businesses and create jobs, while at the same time assuring that all of Westchester’s citizens are able to share in our economic success. Her experience and success as a management executive, an entrepreneur and a private sector business owner add to her breadth and depth of knowledge and insight.”
In addition to serving as Deputy Director of Economic Development since January, Gibbons assumed the role of heading both the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and Westchester County Local Development Corporation (LDC). The two agencies offer business resources, financial assistance and a wide range of related services and incentives to help businesses and not-for-profits expand through construction and permanent jobs.
Latimer praised Gibbons for her work as head of the IDA and LDC, pointing to her successful outreach to the not-for-profit and business communities in Westchester. .
Gibbons said of her appointment: “I would like to thank the County Executive for this opportunity to lead the Westchester County Office of Economic Development. In this past year, I have had the good fortune to meet many truly inspired and dedicated business leaders to see first-hand the great potential for economic development and job creation throughout Westchester. I look forward to working with our business and not-for-profit communities to realize these goals and ensure that Westchester continues to be a strong and vital hub for business.”
Gibbons was founder and owner of Gibbons Digital Consultants, a digital marketing agency. The company helped a wide variety of industries in the tri-state area leverage social media as a business development tool, providing a full-range of services from comprehensive, long-term strategy to daily social media management on Facebook and all other platforms.
Her company was recognized by the Advertising Club of Westchester, winning awards for its work with Facebook and email management. In 2014, Gibbons was recognized for her leadership and management skills, and 914Inc Magazine named her one of Westchester County’s “Best Bosses.” After nine years, her company was acquired by a larger marketing agency in White Plains.
Prior to launching her digital business, Gibbons spent 15 years as a Senior Consultant and Project Manager for Towers Watson, a global human resources and benefits consulting firm, where she managed large, multi-national project teams to implement complex, web-based systems. Her clients included JPMorgan Chase, IBM, Molson Coors and Accenture.
Gibbons, a resident of Bronxville, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies from American University in Washington DC, and certificates in computer technology from Columbia University and in Social Media from New York University.