New Calgary Economic Development staff to support Real Estate sector and Research

(CALGARY) – Calgary Economic Development (CED) is pleased to announce the appointment of three new staff members to the organization during the month of March - Tom Dixon, Susan Thompson and Michael Fotheringham.

Tom Dixon joined the organization as the Business Development Manager, Real Estate & Logistics. With a very strong real estate background, Tom has been a member of both the commercial real estate development and brokerage sectors in Calgary for a number of years and has been a member of the Calgary Real Estate Board since 1987. Most recently Tom was the President of Dixon Real Estate Services Inc., a Calgary commercial real estate consulting and brokerage company. In his new role with Calgary Economic Development Tom will manage the Transportation & Logistics portfolio as well as a portion of the Real Estate portfolio.

Susan Thompson joined the organization as the Business Development Manager, Real Estate. After starting her career in assessment, Susan spent over seven years with RealNet Canada, the leading provider of third-party commercial real estate sales information. Most recently, Susan was the Research Manager at Avison Young and was responsible for dozens of reports on the Calgary commercial real estate market; covering office, retail and industrial leasing as well as business condominium properties and commercial property sales.

Michael Fotheringham joined the organization as the Research Manager. Mike has a keen interest in the relationship between economic indicators and quality of life. He managed the constituency office of Dr. David Swann MLA for four years before returning to school to complete a Masters degree in Public Administration focused on policy research and public economics. Most recently has served as an analyst for the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region and a private research consultancy.

“People are your greatest asset and finding the right, qualified talent is critical to any business’ success,” said Bruce Graham, President and CEO, Calgary Economic Development. “Calgary Economic Development has many exciting and diverse projects underway and I am pleased to welcome Tom, Susan and Michael to the team to help us achieve our long list of 2011 business plan goals.”