The Carolinas Gateway Partnership board named Robert “Bob” Pike as its new president and CEO, effective Sept. 1.
Pike succeeds Norris Tolson, who has led the public-private economic development group for the past seven years.
Pike will be the third president and CEO of the Carolinas Gateway Partnership, which was established in 1977. The organization works on the retention, creation and expansion of business for the “Twin Counties” of Edgecombe and Nash, Rocky Mount and Tarboro.
A Maryland native, Pike lived in Nashville, the county seat of Nash, while employed by Braswell Foods, which produces feed and egg products, for 17 years.
Michael Bryant, chairman of the Carolinas Gateway Partnership board, says he has known Pike for many years and that he will help the area continue to see job growth and economic investment.
“He is a great leader who cares about our region and will lead us well as we enter the next chapter of economic growth in our community,” Bryant said in a statement released by Carolinas Gateway Partnership.
Pike has a background in sales, marketing, and most recently, executive recruiting. In his agricultural career he held numerous executive positions in the fields of poultry and food marketing. As part of his sales and marketing assignments, Pike served as a member and national officer in numerous professional organizations within the agriculture and poultry industry.
“This is an opportunity for us to come back and serve a community that has meant so much to me and my family over the last 30 years,” says Pike in the release. “The potential is immense to make a difference in people’s lives by helping to bring well-paying jobs to our community.”
A graduate of the University of Maryland, Pike is married with four children and six grandchildren. He and his wife, Cindy, will be moving to Rocky Mount from Statesville.
Tolson will remain with the organization for an interim basis to assist with the transitioning of leadership and the overseeing of ongoing projects.
“Norris Tolson has done a tremendous job serving the Carolinas Gateway Partnership over the past seven years,” says Bryant. “Under his leadership, we have attracted many new industries into our region and have seen a lot of existing industry expansion and job creation. He was instrumental in bringing the CSX Carolina Connector Intermodal Terminal to our region, and it serves as a building block that will lead to much success in the future.”
Most recently, Tolson served as a senior adviser for economic development with the Williams Mullen law firm. Prior to that he was president and CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center from 2007 to 2014.
He has also served as both the North Carolina Secretary of Commerce and the North Carolina Secretary of Transportation. In 1999, Tolson served as chairman of the North Carolina Hurricane Floyd Relief Fund and in 2001 he was appointed to be the North Carolina Secretary of Revenue and stayed in that role until 2007.
Tolson was a member of the state House from 1994 to 1997, representing parts of Edgecombe, Nash, Pitt and Wilson counties.
Before politics, Tolson held domestic and international marketing, research and sales positions with DuPont. From 1965 until his retirement in 1993, he served in the company’s agricultural and electronics divisions and lived in Europe for several years during that time.
Tolson and his wife, the former Betsy Cobb also of Edgecombe County, now live in Pinetops.