Ex-BCU leader Karl Dehn takes state job
Former Battle Creek Unlimited President and CEO Karl Dehn begins a new job Monday.
The 49-year-old — who resigned late last month after some 18 years with the organization — has been hired as a senior planning and project manager for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Dehn said the position is in the development finance division and he will help oversee major business attraction and business retention projects statewide.
Dehn and his family will remain in Battle Creek as he commutes to Lansing for the new job.
“I’m pretty excited about the new opportunity,” Dehn told the Enquirer. “I love doing economic development work. I love Michigan. So I think it’s going to be a very good fit and there’s a lot of great people on the MEDC team.”
Dehn stepped down from BCU, which under a contract with the city oversees economic development in Battle Creek, on Sept. 21. He had headed the organization since 2009 amid a four-year downtown redevelopment project and previously worked as its marketing director for 13 years.
The last two years of his tenure saw more than $400 million announced or under way in local private investments. About 2,300 new jobs were created or planned during that period.
BCU is currently being run by former President and CEO Jim Hettinger on an interim basis. Former Battle Creek City Manager Rance Leaders also is assisting with the transition. The board told the Enquirer at the time of Dehn’s resignation that it aims to hire a permanent replacement by Jan. 1.
As city commissioners prepare to move forward with plans to hold a formal workshop with BCU, the organization has started forming search and transition committees to both seek a new CEO and evaluate how it will operate in the future.
Contracts signed in 2012 call for BCU to receive $2.7 million annually from the Tax Increment Finance Authority and $300,000 a year from the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. It receives $430,000 a year from the Downtown Development Authority.
BCU has been hailed for its work in attracting new employers and more jobs at the Fort Custer Industrial Park, but has often fallen under scrutiny for downtown redevelopment as the heart of Michigan Avenue continues to struggle with vacant storefronts and a lack of residential space.
Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Snyder has often called for a regional approach to economic development. The Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance, following several key leadership departures, hired Southwest Michigan First to head economic development work there. Before that, Marshall officials created a nonprofit in early 2013 for economic development; the city had contracted for those services with BCU for years.
Call Jennifer Bowman at 966-0589. Follow her on Twitter: @jenn_bowman