MEDC Hires New President & CEO

Today, the McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Board of Directors announced the hiring of Peter Tokar III as President and CEO. Tokar will start July 30.

Tokar comes to McKinney from Alpharetta, Georgia where he served as the Economic Development Director at the City of Alpharetta since 2012. He concurrently served as Managing Director of the Alpharetta Development Authority. During his time in Alpharetta, he helped recruit a technical college system and a $1 billion mixed-use development to the city and filled more than 2 million square feet of Class A office space. He also recruited the global IT center for Ernst & Young, Halyard Health, BitPay, Verint Systems and the HVAC division for LG to Alpharetta during his tenure. The city added more than 15,000 new jobs, bonded more than $2.2 billion in development bonds and initiated a $100 million revitalization project of the city’s downtown center during his leadership.

"It is an honor to be chosen as the President of the McKinney EDC. It’s rare you find a city that is positioned as well as McKinney for growth and development. The combination of strong foresight by the MEDC board of directors and City leadership has created an incredible opportunity for both existing and future residents and businesses,” Tokar said. “I am excited to be a part of a strong community and team of professionals that are making a positive impact in the community."

Tokar is accredited by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and was named IEDC Professional of the Year in 2015. He was also named to the 40 Under 40 list by Developers Council International in 2017.

"I am proud for the MEDC board and the City of McKinney in selecting Peter Tokar. As always, our board was deliberate, inclusive and collaborated seamlessly with our City Manager and City Council member liaisons during the selection process. We believe McKinney is in the right place at the right time. With Peter’s leadership, we are well-positioned to win meaningful projects to better our community,” said MEDC Chairman Jason K. Burress.

Tokar holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in communications, graphic design, marketing and public relations from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Recent MEDC projects, such as the corporate headquarters for Independent Bank and Playful Corp. and the PACCAR/Dynacraft facility have placed McKinney at the forefront of corporate and manufacturing relocations in Texas. MEDC was created in 1993 to support the development, expansion and relocation of new and existing companies, with a mission to work to create an environment in which community-oriented businesses can thrive.