Director of Economic Development and Government Relations | City of Surrey
A strategic leadership appointment supporting regional growth, investment attraction, and government engagement.
Search Overview
Organization:
City of Surrey
Sector:
Government and Public Sector
Location:
Surrey, British Columbia
Mandate Type:
Executive Search
Leadership Function:
Economic Development and Government Relations
Search Scope:
National and Regional
Engagement Focus:
Leadership Appointment
The Context
The City of Surrey, one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada, continues to play a significant role in shaping economic growth and regional development across British Columbia.
As the City continued expanding its economic footprint, leadership identified the need for a senior professional capable of operating at the intersection of economic development, investment attraction, and government relations. The mandate required a leader who could navigate complex stakeholder environments while helping advance long term economic priorities and regional partnerships.
Given Surrey’s scale, visibility, and continued growth trajectory, the role demanded both strategic leadership capability and strong relationship management across municipal, regional, provincial, and private sector environments.
The Leadership Need
The City was seeking a leader with the ability to support and advance strategic economic initiatives while strengthening relationships across multiple levels of government and industry stakeholders.
The ideal candidate required experience within public sector and economic development environments, combined with the ability to influence decision making, align stakeholders, and contribute to long term growth strategies.
Equally important was the ability to represent the organization externally while supporting internal collaboration across leadership teams and strategic initiatives.
The Assignment
KIRAH was engaged to support a targeted executive search for this important leadership appointment.
The mandate focused on identifying senior leaders with demonstrated experience in economic development, stakeholder engagement, government relations, and regional collaboration. Given the visibility of the role, the search required a thoughtful and highly curated process focused not only on technical capability and leadership experience, but also long term organizational alignment.
The assignment required balancing stakeholder expectations across economic development, public sector governance, and regional growth priorities.
The Search Approach
A comprehensive national and regional market mapping exercise was conducted to identify leadership talent across municipalities, economic development organizations, regional agencies, and related public sector environments.
The search included targeted identification of leaders with experience operating within complex stakeholder ecosystems and investment focused initiatives.
KIRAH implemented a focused outreach strategy engaging senior leaders from municipal, regional, and broader public sector environments.
Outreach efforts prioritized individuals with strong reputations in economic development, partnership building, government engagement, and strategic growth initiatives.
More than 13 senior level candidates were formally assessed through a structured evaluation process.
The assessment focused on leadership capability, stakeholder management, strategic thinking, communication style, and alignment with the City’s long term vision and organizational priorities.
Throughout the engagement, close collaboration was maintained with the City’s leadership team to ensure alignment on mandate expectations, leadership profile requirements, and evolving organizational priorities.
The process emphasized long term fit, leadership capability, and the ability to contribute effectively within a highly visible municipal environment.
The Appointment
The search resulted in the appointment of Tyler Westover, a highly regarded leader with extensive experience in economic development and government engagement.
Tyler brought a strong track record of advancing regional initiatives, strengthening partnerships, and supporting business and investment growth across the region.
His experience operating across municipal, regional, and stakeholder environments positioned him well to support the City’s continued economic growth and strategic priorities.
The Impact
Strengthened Leadership Capacity
Supported the appointment of a senior leader capable of advancing economic development priorities within a rapidly growing municipality.
Enhanced Stakeholder Alignment
Helped strengthen alignment between economic development initiatives, government relations efforts, and regional partnership strategies.
Supported Long Term Growth Objectives
Contributed to the City’s broader vision of positioning Surrey as a leading destination for investment, business growth, and regional economic development.
Key Outcomes
13+ Senior Leaders Assessed
Comprehensive evaluation of executive and senior leadership candidates across public sector and economic development environments.
National and Regional Search Execution
Targeted outreach conducted across municipal, regional, and economic development networks.
Successful Leadership Appointment
Completed the placement of a senior economic development and government relations leader aligned with the City’s strategic direction.
Stakeholder Focused Search Process
Delivered a highly collaborative and discreet executive search process aligned with organizational priorities and leadership expectations.