CHARLOTTE – The Carolinas Gateway Partnership board named Robert “Bob” Pike as its new president and CEO, effective Sept. 1.
Pike succeeds Norris Tolson, who has led the public-private economic development group for the past seven years.
Pike will be the third president and CEO of the Carolinas Gateway Partnership, which was established in 1977. The organization works on the retention, creation and expansion of business for the “Twin Counties” of Edgecombe and Nash, Rocky Mount and Tarboro.
A Maryland native, Pike lived in Nashville, the county seat of Nash, while employed by Braswell Foods, which produces feed and egg products, for 17 years.
Tolson will remain with the organization for an interim basis to assist with the transitioning of leadership and the overseeing of ongoing projects.
Most recently, Tolson served as a senior adviser for economic development with the Williams Mullen law firm. Prior to that he was president and CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center from 2007 to 2014.
He has also served as both the North Carolina Secretary of Commerce and the North Carolina Secretary of Transportation.
For more details, read the full story at Business North Carolina.
