Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman announced that Chief Administrative Officer Ben Birge will become the new president/CEO for the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. (AAEDC). He is tasked with implementing the county executive’s post-pandemic “Build Back Better” economic development vision.

“Ben makes big things happen,” said County Executive Pittman. “Over the past 19 months, he created ArundelStat and its Open Arundel web portal, installed impressive deputies to oversee land use and health and human services, and built a team of department heads that has delivered an unprecedented quality and quantity of service to this county. Now, as president/CEO of [the AAEDC], Ben will do for our economy what he’s done for our government. He will Build Back Better from this pandemic, not just to drive growth in our tax base, but to improve the lives of our residents.”

Pittman also named Matt Power, the deputy chief administrative officer for land use, as the new chief administrative officer to replace Birge.

“Matt joined our staff just six months ago but demonstrated quickly that he has the ability to deliver the kind of open, data-driven, efficient government operations that our residents deserve,” said Pittman. “His outstanding management during the most urgent moments of the pandemic showed me that he has the strength and the skills to be an excellent CAO.”

Pittman also announced another senior leadership change: Kai Boggess-de Bruin, currently the deputy CAO for health and human services, will become chief of staff. Current Chief of Staff Jennifer Purcell is stepping down from her post to implement priority projects for Pittman with a focus on education, health and community engagement initiatives.