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Mayor Gray Congratulates DSLBD Director Harold Pettigrew on Winning 40 Under 40 Award

Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Development Counsellors International Award Recognizes Rising Stars in Economic Development

WASHINGTON, DC—Mayor Vincent C. Gray today congratulated Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) Director Harold Pettigrew for winning a 40 Under 40 award from Development Counsellors International (DCI).

"The District’s economy has benefited tremendously from Harold’s leadership in aggressively rolling out and reforming services that support our small and local businesses," said Mayor Gray. "He is an important part of the District’s economic success story, he exemplifies the world-class talent in my Cabinet, and I congratulate him for this outstanding and well-deserved recognition."

"This award speaks to the excellent work taking place to maximize the launch and growth of businesses in the District of Columbia," said Pettigrew. "I am honored to receive and share this recognition from DCI with the team at DSLBD, and the public and private sector partners who share our commitment to making the District of Columbia a world-class business destination."

DCI’s 40 Under 40 award is designed to discover and acknowledge the economic development profession’s rising stars. A five-member selection committee chose the winners from a pool of more than 150 candidates based on their exceptional contributions to the economic development industry. The award’s program was managed by Development Counsellors International (DCI), a New York-based firm that specializes in economic development marketing.

Pettigrew, a native Washingtonian and Ward 7 resident, is an accomplished business-development professional with over a decade of experience helping businesses start, develop, and grow.  During his tenure as Director, DSLBD has launched the District’s first export readiness and development program, established a partnership with the Kauffman Foundation to create more than 200 new small businesses, re-established the District’s procurement technical assistance program (PTAP), created a technology commercialization support initiative and embarked on an ambitious reform of the District’s Certified Business Enterprise program. Prior to his appointment as Director, Pettigrew served as the Administrator for the Business and Professional Licensing Administration (BPLA) at the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), where he streamlined licensing processes and launched the Small Business Resource Center to assist small businesses with navigating the District’s regulatory environment. Pettigrew's public service career also extends to work in the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) and the New York City Department of Small Business Services. He holds a master’s of degree in urban planning from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University and is a graduate of North Carolina State University.

"The people chosen by the selection committee represent a bright future for the economic development world," said Andy Levine, president of DCI. "They are a new breed of results-driven place makers. We’re very pleased to see Harold among the winners."

DCI officially announced the winners on January 27th at an awards reception during the International Economic Development Council Leadership Summit in Orlando, and will feature an in-depth profile of each on its website during 2013.

For more information on DCI’s 40 Under 40 winners, visit http://aboutdci.com/40under40.

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