The City of Brampton has hired former Ontario “Open For Business” director Clare Barnett as its new head of economic development and culture.

“We’re extremely excited to have her,”Brampton's interim CAO Joseph Pittari told council. “She has a very distinguished background and vast experience that she will be able to apply to our aggressive, yet exciting agenda as it relates to economic development.”

"We have an absolute all-star economic development director," added Mayor Patrick Brown.

According to her resume on her LinkedIn account, Barnett started her career as Investment Branch of Science, Technology and Services manager with Ontario government under former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty in 2006.

She has held various government positions since, mostly in the sphere of economic development.

From 2016-2018, she was vice-president of investment growth at the Ontario Investment Office, and previously worked in London, England as the province’s representative at the Ontario International Marketing Centre.

She served as director of several other Ontario government branches before being appointed Regulatory Centre of Excellence and Open For Business director in October 2018, a few months after the Ontario Progressive Conservative party ousted Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals in the June election.

Barnett spent nine months with the current government before making the jump to the municipal level in Brampton. She described her mandate as Open For Business director as “cut(ting) red tape and regulatory burden across government to lower business operating costs and improve Ontario’s competitiveness.”

“Brampton is on the verge of a deliberate and significant transformation. Brampton's ability to become an economic hotspot is rooted in its rich and diverse culture. Brampton's time to become an economic, cultural and innovation leader is here and that time is now!” said Barnett on her recently updated LinkedIn profile.

She replaces former economic and culture director Bob Darling, who parted ways with the city in February.