The Orange County Partnership is pleased to announce today that Conor Eckert will join the not-for-profit economic development organization as Senior Development Officer and Vice President of Business Attraction effective March 14.

At the age of 25, Eckert is widely known and respected in the business and economic development communities in Orange County and the Mid-Hudson region. He comes to the Partnership after serving almost two years as the Executive Director of the Town of Montgomery Industrial Development Agency and Director of Economic Development for the Town of Montgomery where he was involved in significant development projects that included the new Amazon fulfillment center, among others. He was responsible for the business attraction, retention and expansion efforts in the Town of Montgomery, managing a growing project portfolio of more than $200 million. He also managed the public and community affairs and operations of the IDA.

During his time with the Montgomery IDA, he spearheaded new marketing initiatives, community engagement events and initiated and implemented successful economic development strategies. The town and the IDA currently have a development pipeline of more than 1 million square feet of commercial space.

Eckert, an Orange County resident who was born and raised in the Town of Montgomery, is a graduate of Pine Bush High School and Orange County Community College. He graduated in 2019 from SUNY Binghamton with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Government and earned his Master’s Degree of Public Administration from SUNY Binghamton in 2020.

“The Orange County Partnership has for years attracted the finest home-grown talent and our addition of Conor Eckert continues this fine tradition,” said Orange County President and Chief Executive Officer Maureen Halahan. “We have had our eye on Conor ever since he graduated from SUNY Binghamton and since then we have watched him develop his craft in the Town of Montgomery. He is a well-respected and knowledgeable young professional who is going to hit the ground running here at the Orange County Partnership.”

While Eckert said he has “always been driven to public service” and has gotten a wide breadth of knowledge from positions he has held in planning, policy and economic development with Orange, Sullivan, Ulster and Broome counties, his professional passion is economic development.

“Economic development drives me because you can see tangible community benefits such as new jobs, investment, and opportunity and that is really meaningful to me,” Eckert said.

He added, “It has been an honor to work with IDA Chairman Jeffrey Crist and Supervisor Brian Maher, two forward thinking and community minded leaders. Following my experience in the Town, I am excited to join such a successful team at the Orange County Partnership, which has been involved in many significant projects in Orange County and the Hudson Valley. I am looking forward to rolling my sleeves up and being part of the team - working to attract good projects, jobs and investment to the county.”

Among Eckert’s professional affiliations include: a member of the SUNY Orange Board of Directors and Chairman of its Marketing Committee; a member of the SUNY Orange Alumni Relations Advisory Committee, and a Board Director of the Wallkill River School of Art. He also was a participant in the Leadership Orange program in 2021 and was named SUNY Orange Outstanding Young Alumni for 2021.

The Orange County Partnership is a private, not-for profit organization that markets the county to growing companies interested in expanding their locations or opening new facilities. For more information go to https://www.ocpartnership.org. To contact the Orange County Partnership call (845) 294-2323 or by e-mail at info@ocpartnership.org