The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) has hired Nolan Marshall III to be its president and CEO, starting June 1.
That gives him one month to work with CEO Charles Gauthier, who is retiring effective June 30.
Marshall was most recently at the New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA), for a little more than three years, starting as the vice-president of external affairs and policy, and moving up to be the chief engagement and solutions officer in March, 2020.
"NOLABA is the official economic development agency for the City of New Orleans," Marshall explained on his LinkedIn profile. His most recent role at the organization saw him lead "cross collaboration between our small business growth, strategic neighborhood development, and industry attraction and retention teams, and engagement with our public sector partners around the economic opportunities and challenges facing New Orleans."
Before that, Marshall spent one year and seven months as president and executive director at Uptown Dallas Inc. – a company that on its website describes itself as "the economic engine that drives Dallas forward." It added that it is a "public improvement district company that manages and enhances the public realm."
Marshall began his career by building a successful small business, but turned his attention to public policy and advocacy in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina, the DVBIA said.
He then served in many community-facing roles, including as the associate director of common good at Loyola University, director of policy and advocacy at Tulane’s Cowen Institute and director of public affairs and policy at the Downtown Development District.
"My prior work has included grassroots and grasstops community organizing in public safety and public education policy, place based economic development strategies, and creation and implementation of both macro and micro economic development policies and programs," Marshall said on his LinkedIn page.
The DVBIA's executive search committee worked with the national executive search firm Leaders International for several months to evaluate candidates from across North America.
The DVBIA hired Marshall based on his international leadership and economic development experience, the DVBIA said in a statement.
Gauthier was not involved in the hiring of his successor, but he told BIV: "I’m looking forward to having four weeks of transition time with the new CEO, and will continue to work to fulfill the DVBIA’s mission throughout the time that I have left in my tenure."
