BETHPAGE, N.Y., July 28, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With the goal of driving economic development on Long Island and improving the business climate statewide, Patricia "Pat" McMahon has been named to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. The Council will coordinate the economic development of Nassau and Suffolk counties.
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McMahon, who also serves as a board member of the Long Island Association and the Business Council of New York State, leads Northrop Grumman's (NYSE:NOC) Battle Management and Engagement Systems' (BM&ES) division headquartered here as sector vice president and general manager. The BM&ES division is part of the company's Aerospace Systems' sector. Some of the key U.S. Navy programs under McMahon's leadership locally are the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System, and the EA-18G Growler and EA-6B Prowler. Northrop Grumman has more than 2,300 employees in New York State, with more than 1,800 on Long Island.
"Today we are putting into action a regional plan that confronts head on the specific economic challenges facing Long Island," Cuomo said. "These councils will have the tools they need to initiate regionally tailored projects that take advantage of our state's many resources and create jobs for New Yorkers. For too long, economic development efforts have not met the needs of New York's diverse regions, but with this new approach we will once again open New York for business."
"I'm honored to accept this appointment from Gov. Cuomo. I look forward to working closely with him, Lt. Gov. Duffy, Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Ken Adams, and all members of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council to achieve the goals we have set out to achieve," McMahon said. "Driving new private sector growth across the entire State of New York – especially in defense and high technology aerospace – is vitally important for all New Yorkers."
Currently, New York State's economic development efforts are managed through dozens of separate state and local agencies. The Regional Councils will now bring together stakeholders in every region of the state to serve as a coordinated point of contact for economic development. Each Regional Council will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy and will be led by two regional co-chairs from the business and academic community. Additional membership is comprised of local leaders from business, academia, labor, agriculture, nonprofits and community-based organizations. Each Regional Council will work with the state to develop a plan for the development of their region.
To learn more about the Regional Councils, please visit www.nyopenforbusiness.com or the governor's press release at http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/07272011LongIslandRegionalEconomicDevelopmentCouncil.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
