John Grady To Step Down As President Of Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC)
Long-time PIDC leader to transition to a private sector role in late-January

PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Jim Kenney and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia President and CEO Rob Wonderling announced today that John Grady, long-time senior leader and President of PIDC, will be stepping down in January after more than 21 years of leadership and more than 8 years as PIDC’s President. PIDC is the non-profit, economic development partnership founded by the City and Chamber of Commerce more than 60 years ago with the mission to spur investment, support business growth, and foster developments that create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, and drive inclusive growth to every corner of Philadelphia.

“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve Philadelphia and the City-Chamber partnership committed to driving long-term, sustainable and inclusive growth to every corner of Philadelphia for more than two decades,” said John Grady. “I am thankful to the PIDC Board and the entire team of colleagues, partners, investors, clients, stakeholders, and supporters committed to the shared work of economic growth for the opportunity to be part of such an historic and productive partnership. PIDC has strong Board leadership and a deep, diverse, and talented staff committed to city-wide inclusive economic growth that will flourish under its next generation of leadership.”

Grady will be joining Wexford Science and Technology, LLC (Wexford) as Senior Vice President and Northeast Region Executive. Wexford is a Baltimore-based, private developer that partners nationally with major universities, academic medical centers, and research institutions to create vibrant, mixed-use communities, including in Philadelphia with the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine, Drexel University, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University City Science Center in the development of uCity Square in University City.

“John Grady has served PIDC and our city with passion, skill, and integrity for more than two decades as a forceful advocate for growth throughout all neighborhoods of Philadelphia. He was particularly adept at connecting that growth to the people and places in the most need,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “We will miss his commitment and dedication but look forward to working with him in the next phase of his career with Wexford in Philadelphia’s growing innovation sector.”

Daniel J. Hilferty, CEO of Independence Health Group and Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia noted that “John Grady’s long tenure at PIDC has been distinguished by a well-earned reputation as a trusted partner with a track record of building successful public-private partnerships that have driven investment, jobs, and long-term growth for Philadelphia. We at the Chamber look forward to our continued partnership with the Mayor, building on our 60 years of history working through PIDC and its skilled and professional management team to promote long-term job growth and development that is inclusive and diverse across the entire city.”

Having joined PIDC in 1998 to lead its acquisition and development of a series of closed military bases located throughout South Philadelphia, Grady has taken on a series of increasing leadership roles in the organization, including overseeing all commercial and industrial real estate development and managing complex public-private financing and development projects throughout the city.

Grady became President of PIDC in 2011, continuing to lead the transformation of the Navy Yard from a closed military shipyard to a nationally-recognized model for urban redevelopment and employment; repositioning and growing PIDC’s business lending activity with new investors, products, and support services that have resulted in more than 500 loans for more than $150M in 97% of the city’s zip codes over the last 7 years, with 55% of those loans supporting minority and woman-owned businesses that most often lack access to traditional resources and networks for growth; and building a portfolio of more than 60 high-impact community development projects totaling more than $600M of investment in Philadelphia’s most underserved communities, including health centers, schools, neighborhood retail, and mixed-use developments anchoring commercial corridors.

“John Grady has been a transformational leader for PIDC over his career and as President,” said M. Walter D’Alessio, PIDC Board Chairman. “His achievements can be seen throughout Philadelphia, from the revitalization of the Navy Yard, to major job-creating developments in our employment centers, and in the growing small businesses and neighborhood commercial corridors where PIDC has been an active investor. John has also guided the growth of PIDC over nearly a decade as President, building a sophisticated and capable organization that is a national model for attracting new investors, deploying new tools and products, developing productive partnerships, and building a diverse, and talented staff that has taken PIDC’s work to a new level of accomplishment, ensuring the future success and growth of the organization for years to come.”

Rob Wonderling, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, added that “Over his tenure at PIDC, John Grady has been a passionate partner with the Chamber community, doing the hard work of attracting the resources, structuring the transactions, and advocating for the policies necessary to support good jobs and inclusive growth consistent with the principles of our Roadmap for Growth. We thank John for his dedicated and successful service, wish him great success in his new role at Wexford driving innovation and growth in Philadelphia, and look forward to the continued effectiveness of the Chamber-City partnership through PIDC.”

The PIDC Board of Directors has appointed a Transition Committee that will manage the transition to new leadership. A position description for the PIDC President can be found at the Chamber’s website at www.chamberphl.com The Board expects to announce a new President in January 2020. Grady will remain in his current role until his successor is named.

About PIDC

PIDC is Philadelphia’s city-wide, public-private economic development corporation. A non-profit founded in 1958 as a partnership of the City of Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, PIDC’s mission is to spur investment, support business growth, and foster developments that create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, and drive growth to every corner of Philadelphia. PIDC has invested more than $16.6 billion of financing and more than 3,200 acres of land sales—which has leveraged over $29 billion in total investment and assisted in retaining and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in Philadelphia.

For more information about PIDC, visit www.PIDCphila.com and follow us @PIDCphila on Twitter.