An area elected official is calling on the Golden Triangle Development LINK to reinstate former CEO Joe Max Higgins.
A press release issued Sunday evening announced Higgins’ ouster, saying the LINK’s Executive Committee determined “a leadership transition is in the best long-term interest of the organization and the region we serve.”
Speaking to The Dispatch on Monday, Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill called the move a “hastily made decision without understanding the long-term repercussions and implications for our overall community.”
“I would love for this LINK board to reconsider its decision and provide Mr. Higgins an opportunity to be a part of the community he has served so admirably for the last 20 years,” Spruill said.
Higgins has served more than 20 years as chief executive at the LINK, the region’s industrial development arm. He was in the first year of a five-year contract, which Higgins told The Dispatch in May would be his last with the organization.
During Higgins’ time at the helm, The LINK helped land more than $10 billion in capital investment to the region, including plants like Steel Dynamics, PACCAR and Airbus in Lowndes County and Yokohama Tire in West Point. Most recently, the LINK led efforts to bring a $2.5 billion development to Lowndes County, anchored by Aluminum Dynamics. To date, it’s the second largest industrial development investment in state history.
The LINK also is developing the region’s fifth Tennessee Valley Authority-certified Megasite, aptly named CINCO, off Highway 82 between Columbus and Starkville.
As an organization, it represents Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties.
The LINK will begin a search for a new CEO, its Sunday press release said, while day-to-day operations “remain under management of our dedicated and capable team.”
“The LINK remains committed to building on recent successes, advancing major projects and continuing to position our region as a leader in regional growth,” the press release said. “We deeply value the ongoing support and partnership of our stakeholders as we move forward.”
Bain Nickels, the chairman for the Executive Committee, would not confirm the details surrounding Higgins departure, telling The Dispatch the committee would not comment beyond the content of the press release by press time Monday.
Higgins did not return multiple calls and messages from The Dispatch.
But Spruill had no problem sticking up for Higgins’ “incredible success rate.”
“From my perspective, Mr. Higgins was probably the single most impactful person in this community to bring together all the things he did over the last 20 years,” she said. “We will be forever grateful to him for (that).”
What happens next?
Higgins built his brand in the Golden Triangle with audacious energy, at times bluntly criticizing local and state leadership when he felt their actions hurt economic development.
But his successes at The LINK garnered national attention, including coverage from the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” and recognition from Harvard School of Business.
Replacing him will not be easy, Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston said.
“The shoes you have to fill are somewhat laden with concrete, especially when you’re following a dynamic personality like Joe,” he said. “I think it is going to be important to find somebody with energy. … You have to find somebody who has the knowledge of economic development and has the personality to bring people together.”
Lowndes County has borrowed $25 million to fund utilities installation and other prep work at the CINCO site to create a shovel-ready site for a major industrial tenant. The state and TVA have also significantly invested in that project.
That work doesn’t change, Hairston said, but a significant change in LINK leadership could hamper recruitment efforts there in the short-term.
“There’s probably going to be a lot of questions like, ‘What happened?’, ‘Where’s Joe?’ and ‘What does this mean?’” Hairston said. “Once you get beyond that, you can start moving forward.”
The Higgins-led LINK helped develop the almost 400-acre NorthStar Industrial Park on Highway 389 in Starkville, which is now home to Garan Manufacturing and an Amazon Last-Mile facility.
Without Higgins, Spruill said she hopes the organization can maintain momentum at the expanding NorthStar park and in bringing jobs to the entire region.
Both Spruill and Hairston expressed confidence in LINK Chief Operations Officer Meryl Fisackerly’s management skills in the interim.
As for who will become the next CEO, Spruill expects someone who can play on Higgins’ level.
“I certainly am expecting them to put a search together that will yield the kind of results that we have had in the past,” she said of the LINK Executive Committee. “… I truly do not believe we will be able to find someone who can exceed him. I certainly hope we find someone who will be able to match him. But I don’t think we would be where we are today but for Joe Max Higgins. … It saddens me greatly that we will lose his expertise.”
With the LINK’s reputation, as well as the CINCO site underway, Hairston believes the job will be desirable to top-tier candidates.
“We have, in my opinion, one of the best marketable sites in the state from an economic development standpoint,” Hairston said. “… There is only one Joe Max Higgins. … (But) there are other economic developers, and there have been other economic development successes that have been done in different ways than Joe did.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
