Providence Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson
RIEDC Deputy Director William J. Parsons, center, nominated by Governor Chafee, right, for the position of director, at the board's meeting Thursday night.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Governor Chafee is nominating deputy director William J. Parsons to lead the R.I. Economic Development Corporation.
Parsons has been in charge of the EDC since the resignation last spring of former director Keith Stokes in the midst of controversy surrounding the EDC's $75-million loan guarantee for retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's video game company, 38 Studios.
"He has been a big part of the turnaround that has taken place at the EDC recently," Chafee said of Parsons. His "extensive knowledge, experience, and relationships, combined with the EDC's new focus on serving existing Rhode Island businesses, will help the agency enter a new era without having to start from square one."
Parsons became deputy director in 1990 and served as acting director in 1997 and 2002. His nomination as director is subject to R.I. Senate approval.
Parsons, a North Providence native, said helping businesses grow "is a recipe for long-term, sustained economic growth."
-- With reports from Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi