The LAEDC enthusiastically applauds the appointment of Lenny Mendonca to serve as Governor Gavin Newsom’s Chief Economic and Business Advisor and as Director of the Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz). Mr. Mendonca has long collaborated with the LAEDC and our CEO Bill Allen in their work together on the steering committee of the annual California Economic Summit which is co-produced each year by California Forward (currently co-chaired by Mr.Mendonca) and the California Stewardship Network which was co-chaired by Mr. Allen for the past two years. Mr. Mendonca is also a past chair of the Bay Area Council and its Economic Institute, peer organizations of the LAEDC, making him highly familiar with regional economic development issues and opportunities. He is also a director emeritus (retired senior partner) from the Washington, DC and San Francisco offices of McKinsey and Company, the global management consulting firm, where he previously oversaw the McKinsey Global Institute, a current research partner of the LAEDC.

“Governor Newsom has made an excellent appointment naming Lenny Mendonca as his chief economic and business advisor,” said LAEDC CEO Bill Allen. “His vast experience, knowledge, relationships, strategic thinking and commitment to innovation will be invaluable in advancing a more prosperous, sustainable and inclusive economy for all Californians. We look forward to working with him more closely than ever in that pursuit.”