July 7. Robert J. Carney Jr., who has been the executive director of the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation since 2010, takes over as president and CEO of Cabarrus County Economic Development Aug. 1.

Carney replaces Patrick Coughlin who headed up both the Cabarrus Chamber and Cabarrus EDC until he was let go in December last year.

Dr. Tim Brewer, chairman of Mooresville-South Iredell EDC, said the board will meet as early as next week to consider next steps. “We want to make the right decision for the continued growth of this part of the county,” Brewer said.

The Cabarrus County EDC started an “extensive search for new leadership late last year” immediately after Coughlin was terminated.

Coughlin headed up both the chamber and the EDC, as did his predecessor, John Cox. Barbi Jones was hired to head up the Cabarrus Chamber in May and took on the title of executive director when the organizations officially separated.

The thinking was that the chamber was a membership-based organization, focused on members, while the EDC is about real estate, recruiting and retaining employers and nurturing a pipeline of economic development inquiries from around the world.

“Robby will be a great asset to our organization,” said Scott Lampe, chairman of the Cabarrus EDC.

During his time at Mooresville-South Iredell EDC, more than $3.2 billion in new projects and 8,000 new jobs came to the region. Prior to being named the head of the EDC, Carney was the existing industry and marketing manager.

Carney will replace acting CEO Terry Crawford who has been leading the EDC since Coughlin’s departure.