Valley Vision’s president and CEO is taking the same position at a similar group in the Tri-Cities, leaving the Lewiston organization searching for a new top executive less than two years after he accepted the job.
Karl Dye is leaving to become the president and CEO of the Tri-City Development Council, which, like Valley Vision, is a public and private not-for-profit.
“Karl has been a tremendous asset for our valley,” said Chad Miltenberger, president of the board of directors, in an email. “I have really appreciated his innovation to work towards developing collaboration while remaining vigilant of our mission.”
Valley Vision and Dye are working on a transition plan. A number of details are still being decided.
“I’m going to start in the Tri-Cities in early February, but I don’t have an exact date,” Dye said.
The idea of a potential move only occurred to him after he was contacted by an executive search firm.
“I wasn’t looking for another opportunity,” he said. “I was very satisfied here at Valley Vision.”
The new job will give him a chance to support a growing community with a wide diversity of employers that includes contractors working on the Hanford site, food processing businesses and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
That entity is doing a lot of research in alternative energy, which could lend itself to commercialization, Dye said.
His mission with the Tri-Cities firm — seeking ways to help the economy thrive — will mirror his role in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.
“Most of the work I have done here has been projects we were just getting ready to launch,” he said.
Among them were setting the stage for a coworking space in cooperation with Beautiful Downtown Lewiston and a joint marketing campaign with Moscow and Pullman.
So far, backers of the coworking space have met with owners of properties where it might be and sought grants.
It would be an office for entrepreneurs who didn’t need a brick-and-mortar location or were too early in their process for one, as well as for people working remotely for employers in other areas. It would also house not-for-profits.
The environment would be designed to encourage users to share ideas that could lead to the creation of new technologies and businesses.
It would be in an underutilized building that would be renovated and have robust wireless network and high-speed internet, Dye said.
It would have a variety of places where people could work on laptop computers, such as desks, tables and chairs. It would have conference rooms and areas for meetings.
How much people paid would depend on if they preferred a first-come, first-serve spot, or wanted their own desk or office.
Dye was also involved in developing a brand to market the region as a whole.
Part of that effort is looking at how to encourage 10,000 students who graduate each year from the region’s institutions of higher learning to stay. That talent pool could then be used to attract new companies to the area, Dye said.
Being involved in those efforts to improve the business climate, he said, was rewarding.
“I really enjoyed my time here,” Dye said.
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
