The City of Worcester has filled two major administrative roles with a promotion to chief development director and a return of a former top official to be the new chief financial officer.
Peter Dunn, who has held multiple economic development roles, will become Worcester’s new chief development officer effective Monday. He was most recently the assistant economic development officer and previously the business and commercial development coordinator.
Timothy McGourthy, the city’s chief development officer from 2006 to 2014, is now Worcester’s CFO. His appointment is effective June 22.
Both Dunn and McGourthy are Worcester residents.
Dunn has helped establish the city’s Downtown Business Improvement District, implemented its tax increment financing policy and created a small business resiliency grant program aiding businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. He has a bachelor’s degree from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island and an MBA from Babson College in Boston.
Dunn succeeds Mike Traynor, who now leads the city’s law department as city solicitor.
McGourthy returns to the city after serving since February 2019 as the state’s deputy secretary in the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. In that role he’s overseen 850 staff and eight major quasi-public agencies. He also serves as the chief operating officer of the secretary overseeing finance, human resources, information technology and law.
McGourthy is also the interim president and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a role he started in January. Before joining the state, he was the executive director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.
McGourthy has a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, and a master’s degree in public policy and urban planning from Harvard University.
He succeeds Thomas Zidelis, who retired in March after serving as CFO for 32 years.
