Richmond names new economic development director

Published June 10, 2019 by Veronica Garabelli

Richmond has named a new economic development director, but he’s no stranger to the state’s business community.

The city announced Monday that Leonard Sledge has been hired as director of economic development. Sledge has more than 13 years of experience in the field, including serving as director of economic development for the city of Hampton and at the College of William and Mary.

Most recently, Sledge was executive director of the Henry County Development Authority in Georgia. Henry County is part of the Atlanta metro region.

Sledge succeeds Lee Downey, now director of economic and business development for Hunton Andrews Kurth in Richmond. Jane Ferrara had been Richmond’s interim economic development director but has returned to her previous position as deputy director of economic development, according to Richmond spokesman Jim Nolan.

Sledge earned bachelor’s degrees from Morehouse College and Georgia Tech. He holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Earlier this year, he was named one of North America’s top 50 economic developers by Consultant Connect.