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Recognizing and honoring Harold T. Epps on the occasion of his departure as Director of Commerce for the City of Philadelphia, for his decades of service to greater Philadelphia’s business community.
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WHEREAS, Harold T. Epps, outgoing Director of Commerce for the City of Philadelphia, is a seasoned business leader with over three decades of corporate experience in providing high-performance products and solutions for complex and compliance-driven industries; and
WHEREAS, As Commerce Director, Harold and his team were tasked with a broad set of goals, including: ensuring that Philadelphia is a globally competitive city to which employers flock, entrepreneurs thrive and innovation abounds; attracting and retaining a diverse set of businesses; fostering economic opportunities for all Philadelphians in all neighborhoods; and partnering with workforce development programs and local businesses on talent development, thus ensuring that all Philadelphians can find and retain family-sustaining jobs; and
WHEREAS, In furtherance of these goals, Harold implemented and oversaw policies to help both small businesses and major corporations thrive in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Under Epps, Commerce has coordinated activities along neighborhood commercial corridors with small businesses and entrepreneurs, major real estate development projects, and large-scale business attraction and retention efforts, as well as efforts to increase opportunities for minority-owned business contracting; and
WHEREAS, Prior to his time with Commerce, Harold was the Vice-Chair of the Board of PRWT Services, one of the largest minority-owned firms in the United States and a provider of high-performance business solutions, facilities management and infrastructure support services. He also served as PRWT’s President and CEO from 2007 to 2014; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his career, which also included executive roles at Quadrant, Menasha Corporation, Polaroid, and Digital Equipment Corporation, Harold built a solid reputation for positioning organizations for sustained growth, successfully managing change and restructuring, improving efficiency, spurring innovation, and maintaining a disciplined focus on continuous process and performance improvement; and
WHEREAS, Epps’s commitment to our business community has long driven his civic and board activities, which have included cochairing the Comcast National African-American Advisory Council, serving on the Philadelphia International Airport Advisory Board, and on the boards of Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, Select Greater Philadelphia, Global Philadelphia Association, PHLCVB, and Community College of Philadelphia, among others; and
WHEREAS, Harold earned his MBA from Western New England College, and prior to that, he earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University, which recently bestowed upon him the title of Trustee Emeritus; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby recognize and honor Harold T. Epps, on the occasion of his departure as Director of Commerce for the City of Philadelphia, for his decades of service to greater Philadelphia’s business community.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Harold T. Epps, evidencing the sincere admiration and respect of this legislative body.
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