Following a year-long search the city of Alpharetta has selected the person who will lead its efforts to attract and grow business and private investment. Peter Tokar will begin his new duties as Alpharetta’s director of economic development on June 4.

“We’re excited because … economic development is something we’re certainly paying more attention to,” said Mayor David Belle Isle at Monday’s city council meeting, where the announcement was made. “[Tokar is] going to help us both with our branding initiative and our attraction and retention of companies. We’re making a lot of good steps in the right direction.”

Tokar will be coming to Alpharetta from South Florida where he led similar efforts for the city of Davie, building that community’s economic development program from scratch.

Over a three-year period, Tokar completely restructured the program; rebranding the community, creating new business recruitment strategies, and developing the town’s first structured incentive program to spur job creation.

Tokar also dedicated considerable effort to working with existing businesses in Davie to ensure that the environment encouraged their growth and success.

Prior to his time in Davie, Tokar ran economic development programs for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward Alliance, the City of Miramar, Florida, and the Miramar – Pembroke Pines Chamber of Commerce. Tokar also has private sector experience in sales and public relations. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications and Advertising from Liberty University and a Masters of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University.

Belle Isle said in a previously released statement, “This is an exciting time for Alpharetta as we launch initiative like our Technology Advisory Commission, re-brand ourselves as The Technology City of the South and begin to implement the recommendations in our new economic development plan. Mr. Tokar is bringing new ideas to the table and the experience to help us achieve our goals in an aggressive timetable.”