Catalfamo named Oneida County’s director of economic development

UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. announced he has named David M. Catalfamo as the county’s director of economic development.

He will be the lead on all of Oneida County’s economic-development efforts, including downtown development; small-business expansion, creation, innovation and incubation; tourism; education; cybersecurity; unmanned aircraft systems; and Griffiss International Airport, according to a news release from Picente’s office.

Catalfamo has 20 years of New York State government experience, including both the legislative and executive branches. He has spent the last dozen years working as a communications and economic development consultant with the Dilenschneider Group, Capitol Public Strategies, and Park Strategies.

 “Dave Catalfamo brings a level of experience and expertise to the table that will greatly benefit Oneida County, and quite frankly, we are lucky to have someone of his caliber joining our efforts to move this community forward,” Picente said in the release. “He is just the person we need to expand and execute my evolved vision of economic development and bring this region to the next level.”

Catalfamo, a graduate of SUNY Albany, first came to know Oneida County in 1995 as then-Gov. George Pataki’s liaison to the community for the successful effort to stave off the closure of Rome Labs through the Base Realignment and Closure initiative.

From 1997 to 2004, he served as senior VP at the Empire State Development Corp., where he primarily directed the state’s business-development efforts working with companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies, including projects such as Global Foundries, GEICO, and Delphi.

As an adviser to the Olympic Regional Development Authority, he helped to secure the Goodwill Games and the Great Outdoors Games in Lake Placid, per the release. In addition, as executive director of the New York Science and Technology Foundation, Catalfamo managed the State’s $30 million high tech venture fund and the state’s Centers for Advanced Technology.

In the aftermath of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Catalfamo was primarily responsible for leading a team that developed, negotiated and implemented the state’s business and tourism recovery efforts in Lower Manhattan. From 2004-2007, he served as director of communications for Pataki.

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Photo credit: Oneida County executive’s office