Victor Hoskins Leaves Arlington To Lead Fairfax County Economic Development
The carousel of D.C.-area economic development leaders continued to spin Monday, with Victor Hoskins leaving Arlington County for its neighbor to the west.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority announced Monday it named Hoskins as its new president and CEO. He plans to assume the role Aug. 5.
The announcement comes after Jerry Gordon, who led FCEDA for over three decades, retired late last year. The organization said it worked with consulting firm Korn Ferry to conduct a nationwide search that ultimately found the boisterous man in Fairfax's backyard.
As Arlington County's top economic development official, Hoskins led the effort to bring Amazon HQ2 to Crystal City and Pentagon City, where it plans to create 25,000 jobs. He also helped Arlington land Nestlé, which moved its U.S. headquarters in 2017 from Southern California to Rosslyn.
Prior to leading Arlington's economic development, Hoskins held top economic development roles in Prince George's County and in D.C., where he served as deputy mayor for planning and economic development.
In Fairfax County, Hoskins will enter a jurisdiction that has experienced significant economic growth around the office market hubs of Tysons and Reston. During Gordon's tenure from 1987 to last year, Fairfax County's office market grew from 32M SF to 117M SF and its total employment grew from 243,000 jobs to over 600,000. That growth was bolstered by having 10 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the county, including Capital One, Northrup Grumman and Hilton.
“Fairfax County is well known for its pro-growth environment and its ability to attract, train and retain talented workers," Hoskins said in a release. "With the backing of FCEDA’s excellent staff, I hope to do more of that with increased outreach in the U.S. and abroad, especially among young people. As always, I hope to work closely with my colleagues and friends in the region. I also plan to increase our use of research and digital communications to expand the county’s dynamic workforce, attract startups and grow existing businesses.”
Hoskins departure from Arlington Economic Development comes after Christina Winn, previously AED's business investment director, was hired as Prince William County's economic development director last month. A spokesperson for Arlington Economic Development said Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz plans to name an interim replacement for Hoskins soon.
Also last month, Brian Kenner announced he would leave his role as D.C.'s deputy mayor for planning and economic development to take a job with Amazon. In April, David Petr announced he would leave his role as head of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. Prince George's County's Economic Development Corp. welcomed a new leader in December, when longtime county official David Iannucci was tapped to replace Jim Coleman.
