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Mark Farris to leave York County for Greenville post [The State (Columbia, S.C.) :: ](State (Columbia, SC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 30--Mark Farris, who has led York County's job-creation efforts for nearly 30 years, has been named the new president and chief executive officer for the Greenville Area Development Corp. Farris has served as Director of Economic Development for York County since 1987. He was unanimously selected after an extensive nationwide search that included more than 300 applications, according to an announcement posted Wednesday on the Greenville County's economic development organization's website. During Farris' tenure, York County announced over $4 billion in new capital investment -- an average of more than $180 million in new investment and over 1,200 new jobs annually. In June, Farris joined Gov. Nikki Haley and other officials in announcing that two companies would consolidate scattered operations in Charlotte and move them across the state line to create new headquarters in Fort Mill. The two companies, Lash Group and LPL Financial, announced a combined 5,400 jobs over time. "Mark has been a tireless advocate of smart, strategic and high impact economic development in South Carolina overall and in York County, and is widely respected as a strong leader, visionary and strategist in the industry," said Richard Wilkerson, Chairman of the GADC Board of Directors, said in a prepared statement. "He will bring knowledge, energy, and a strong collaborative spirit to our public/private partnership, and is the right leader to build upon Greenville County's tremendous opportunities, reputation and momentum." Farris begins the Greenville County job on Sept. 15. He replaces Jerry Howard, GADC's founding president, who left the job more than a year ago. Longtime GADC vice president Kevin Landmesser has been serving as the organization's interim president since Howard's departure. -- GreenvilleOnline contributed ___ (c)2014 The State (Columbia, S.C.) Visit The State (Columbia, S.C.) at www.thestate.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |