Arundel to lose head of development unit

Anne Arundel County's head of economic development will take a job with M&T Bank Corp. after 11 years promoting growth in one of the state's key employment centers, the bank announced yesterday.

Bill Badger's last day as president and chief executive of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. will be Feb. 20. He leaves at a time of impending change for the county, which expects 20,000 to 25,000 jobs to be created in the Fort Meade area over several years as a result of the Pentagon's consolidation of military bases.

Badger presided over the development of the Arundel Mills mall; the proliferation of defense contractors around the National Security Agency at Fort Meade; the redevelopment of the long moribund Parole Plaza near Annapolis, and the launch of the nation's first homeland security business incubator.

"I was not in the market for a job, but certainly the bank offered me a pretty exciting opportunity," Badger said yesterday.

He will join M&T as a vice president of its Baltimore-based government banking segment, working with state and local agencies on investment and financing needs. M&T, which has its headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y., entered the Baltimore market in 2003.

Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens learned of Badger's leaving Monday and is searching for a replacement, a spokeswoman said. Owens, who was not available for comment yesterday, said in a statement that Badger "has done an outstanding job."

Badger joined the agency in 1994 as a business location consultant, was promoted to senior vice president in 1998 and was named to the top job in the summer of 1999.

Prior to that, he spent about 17 years in state government, working for the comptroller's office. Badger, 50, lives in the Anne Arundel community of Brooklyn Park.

Dennis C. Murphy, a former economic developer who is now managing partner of Murphy Hogan Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. in Annapolis, said Badger marketed the county well and was good about keeping business leaders abreast of change.

"He's had a huge impact on the county," Murphy said. "He's not ... perceived as a government bureaucrat, if you will, but a guy who gets things done."

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