ESDC Gets New Head

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week nominated Julie Shimer, chief executive officer and president of Welch Allyn, to chair the board of the Empire State Development Corp.

Welch Allyn, located west of Syracuse, manufactures medical equipment for doctor’s offices and hospitals. It is a privately held family-owned company. Shimer became CEO and president in 2007 after serving on the board since 2002, according to the firm’s website.

Previously, Shimer was president and CEO of Vocera Communications, a wireless company in California. She has also worked as an executive for 3Com Corp., Motorola, A&T Bell Laboratories, and Bethlehem Steel Co.

“Her extensive experience in the upstate and downstate business communities will be essential to the reconstruction of New York’s economy,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Attracting and retaining business in New York is job number one, and Julie and the rest of the ESDC team will work tirelessly to make that happen.”

The ESDC helps to promote economic development and job creation throughout the state. The agency issued $2.08 billion of debt in 2010 and $2.55 billion the year before, according to Thomson Reuters.

Shimer holds a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University and a bachelor’s in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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