Maura O’Connor Elected as LAEDC’s First Woman Chair

O’Connor will serve as 2010/2011 Chair of Region’s Premier Economic Dev. Corp.

LOS ANGELES — The Board of Governors of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to attract, retain and grow businesses and jobs in the regions of L.A. County, has elected Maura O’Connor, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America’s leading full-service law firms, as its new Chair for 2010/2011. O’Connor is the first woman to hold this position during the LAEDC’s 30-year history. “As our organization continues to play a leadership role in driving economic recovery and advancing important economic development initiatives with the implementation of the county’s first-ever, Strategic Plan for Economic Development, Maura’s experience, commitment and leadership will be invaluable to our work helping to ensure a strong, diverse and sustainable economy for L.A. County’s residents and communities,” said Bill Allen, LAEDC’s president and chief executive. “Maura is also the organization’s first woman chair, which obviously represents an important milestone for our organization.” O’Connor has served as a member of the LAEDC’s Board of Governors since 1999. Her involvement with the LAEDC includes serving as chair of its Land Use committee since 2007. Under her leadership, the committee asserted itself as a leading and forceful voice on the need to preserve the Los Angeles region’s “jobs producing” industrial land. “The LAEDC is recognized as the premier economic development corporation in the region – and perhaps the entire nation. With so many area businesses hurting and so many of our neighbors struggling to find work and make ends meet, I am privileged to be entrusted with leading the LAEDC Board during such a critical time in our county’s history,” said O’Connor. In addition to her civic involvement, O’Connor is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw’s Real Estate Department. Her practice focuses on real estate financing, workouts and foreclosures, acquisitions, development, and leasing. She has been highlighted as one of the top ten real estate lawyers in southern California in 2005 by “Real Estate Southern California,” which also named her a “Woman of Influence” in 2006 and 2007. O’Connor has also been named one of the Distinguished Alumni of the University of Minnesota Law School. Effective this month, O’Connor succeeds Lloyd Greif, president and chief executive of Greif & Co., a Los Angeles-based investment banking firm, who chaired the LAEDC Board for the past year. “The leadership of Lloyd Greif has significantly helped grow the visibility and impact of the LAEDC,” said Allen. “Lloyd’s passion for economic development is evident in his many accomplishments as chair of the LAEDC, including increasing the organization’s commitment to attracting foreign direct investment and leading the Board’s involvement in the development of the countywide strategic plan.”