PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Commerce Corp. board unanimously approved the hiring of an executive search firm to fill “executive positions within the corporation,” including its chief marketing officer for tourism, at the agency’s meeting Monday night.
Brian Hodge, spokesman for the agency, prior to the meeting told Providence Business News the search firm would be hired to recruit for the quasi-public state agency’s chief marketing officer position. “That would be one of them,” he said, noting that the firm would be hired to fill other roles that are “yet to be determined.”
During the meeting, R.I. Commerce Corp. President Jesse Saglio said the approval was to retain an executive search firm “to fill a handful of positions.” The goal, he said, “is to find the very best candidates who will be the right fit to promote long-term stability for the organization.”
Matt Sheaff, director of communications for R.I. Commerce, said the executive search firm would not be seeking a potential replacement for Stefan Pryor, the agency’s commerce secretary, should he decide to leave.
Pryor has served as the agency’s commerce secretary since being appointed by former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in 2015. Gov. Daniel J. McKee has said that Pryor “is leaving his options open,” and a decision on his future has not been made.
As for the chief marketing officer position, Hodge said the position is being advertised on the agency’s website. According to the posting, the purpose of the position is to lead the overall direction, coordination and evaluation of the marketing function of the R.I. Commerce Corp.
The position has been in limbo since Heather Evans resigned in May of 2020 after serving for a year in the role. Sheaff has been filling the role temporarily.
Evans led the statewide effort to attract tourists and businesses to Rhode Island, and to coordinate with organizations such as the state’s six tourism councils. She also managed the “Fun-Sized” ad campaign created by her predecessor, Lara Salamano, as well as spearheaded the marketing team in the first-ever “Hotel Week RI” in January 2020 and “Rhody Resilient,” a mostly social media campaign launched after the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March.
“We have an acting CMO at the present,” said Hodge of Sheaff, noting that he wasn’t “aware of any timetable” for the agency to fill the position. “I think the preference is to get the most qualified candidate that we can.”
As for who is being considered for the position, Hodge said the agency “was a couple of steps away from saying anything on that.” He said a request for proposals has been posted on the R.I. Commerce Corp. website. “Once we have the search firm in place, we will have a better idea of the types of candidates, and we will take it from there,” he said.
Hodge said the cost for the agency to employ an executive search firm was “to be determined – depending on who responds, and what kind of applicants we get.”
“The team is lean right now,” Saglio said during the meeting, noting that the new hires will play a role “in driving the agency forward” in aiding small businesses during the pandemic.
Saglio said the agency issued a request for proposals mid-week last week and the respondents’ proposals are due on Wednesday. He noted that the cost would be a negotiated and agreed upon fee, or a flat-fee structure.
Pryor said that the agency would review the proposals and “return to the board for authorization once it has the firm or firms in hand.”
(Updates made throughout to reflect the R.I. Commerce board’s approval to hire an executive search firm and comments from R.I. Commerce President Jesse Saglio.)
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Shuman@PBN.com.
