PINELLAS COUNTY, Florida — CareerSource Pinellas has a new CEO.
- Jennifer Brackney previously Interim Executive Director
- Other top candidate backed out earlier Wednesday
- CareerSource Tampa Bay will have separate CEO
Interim Executive Director Jennifer Brackney accepted a one-year contract to head up the county’s job searching agency Wednesday.
The decision came after board members wrestled for more than two hours over what to do when the other top candidate for the job, Rocco Tricarico, dropped out at the last minute.
Tricarico backed out on Tuesday over the local state and federal investigations into former CEO Edward Peachy's alleged actions.
The search for a new CEO started earlier this year after Peachy was fired as CEO by both CareerSource Pinellas and CareerSource Tampa Bay for allegedly doctoring the number of people the agencies were placing in jobs. Since his firing, the two agencies have decided to hire separate CEOs.
“We got (CareerSource Pinellas) right-sided," said board chair Jack Geller. “Now we got to get it moving forward at a reasonable pace, get things done and again, provide services to the people who need it.”
Brackney said she’s ready to get to work.
“We can do this,” Brackney said, “We have a great team of professional workforce individuals who work for us. We have a great board. You can see how committed they are today. So, absolutely we can do this, and we can make a difference in our community, and I'm really looking forward to doing that.”
CareerSource Tampa Bay is hiring its own CEO separately. That board is currently whittling down its list of candidates to four finalists.