Who's going to be the new face for business investment in Hamilton?

It looks like we'll know sooner rather than later.

As Hamilton's high-profile director of economic development, Glen Norton, begins his long-planned retirement, the city is already on the verge of announcing his replacement.

Jason Thorne, general manager of planning and economic development, declines to disclose how many people actually applied to fill Norton's shoes.

But Thorne says there was a lot of interest in the position from both internal and external candidates.

"We expect we'll be able to have a decision fairly soon," said Thorne, who oversees the division.

Interest in Norton's job - with an annual salary range of $140,000 to $180,000 - is hardly surprising thanks to the national buzz about Hamilton being a comeback city, with boasting rights for having one of the most diversified economies in the country.

But make no mistake, it can also be a heck of a hot seat.

The pressure to generate new business dollars to ease the disproportionate property tax burden on homeowners is as unrelenting as commercial and industrial property tax reassessment clawbacks.

As Thorne himself notes, sometimes tax assessment growth in Hamilton can seem like an exercise in taking two steps forward, one step backwards.

Still, there's no question the city has enjoyed a tremendous urban renewal run over the last several years, for which Thorne says Norton and his ec-dev team deserve a lot of credit.

Norton, 64, formally leaves the job he took over three and a half years ago on Friday, but he announced his retirement plans well over a year earlier.

Formerly a business banker, Norton was the city's manager of urban renewal for five years before stepping up to replace longtime ec-dev director Neil Everson, who retired in 2016.

Thorne credits both Norton and Everson with building leadership bench strength within the division.

"As much as someone like Glen is always going to be missed, it's great to know that you have a really strong team coming up behind him."

With about 43 staffers and an annual budget of some $8 million, economic development is hardly one of the city's bigger departments. But its mandate to grow the local economy cuts across commercial, real estate and land development sectors.

The director not only provides internal leadership, he or she is the city's external sales face for potential investors, existing businesses, the community at large, and the news media.

Thorne notes the director also plays an important role in advising senior staff and members of council.

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"This is a person that council turns to regularly to ask questions about broader economic trends, where we're going as city, and what our strategy is."

Thorne says Norton did a "fantastic job" across the board, particularly his ability to create and identify opportunities for partnerships.

"One of my challenges is to make sure I find someone to continue that."

For his part, Norton says he loved meeting people, working with entrepreneurs and picking up on the positive energy that crackles through the city.

He takes satisfaction in knowing he had a "small part" in making downtown Hamilton more vibrant and prosperous after some rough years.

A career highlight was the 2019 relocation of L3 WESCAM's corporate head office to Flamborough, which will employ some 1,200 skilled tech workers.

Norton says one of his reasons from calling it quits was, as a baby boomer, he felt he "needed to get out of the way so the next wave of professionals got a chance to move up."

In the case of his successor, whether that person is already on staff or a newcomer is out of his hands. But whoever it is, Norton firmly believes he or she requires some key qualifications.

"They have to truly believe in and love this city and want to see it be prosperous for everyone."