In a June 18 vote, the Downtown Investment Authority board approved an employment agreement with longtime Baltimore development executive Colin Tarbert to become CEO of the DIA in August 2025.
The DIA board voted 7-0 in favor of the three-year deal, which provides Tarbert with $297,000 in annual compensation.
The board’s vote constitutes final action in selecting Tarbert to head the organization. The Jacksonville City Council recently rejected a proposal that would have given Council the authority to hire and fire the DIA CEO.
Tarbert will succeed Lori Boyer, who is retiring at the end of June after serving as CEO since 2019.
Also June 18, the DIA board voted 7-0 to name DIA Director of Operations Guy Parola as interim CEO between Boyer’s departure and Tarbert’s arrival. The work agreement calls for Tarbert to start his new position in the first week of August.
Tarbert, the former president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp., was selected as DIA CEO on June 9. He earned a base salary of $239,261 in Baltimore along with $33,560 in other compensation, according to ProPublica.
Boyer’s annual salary is $221,550.
The agreement calls for Tarbert to be reimbursed for travel, professional membership dues, conference fees and continuing education subject to budget approval by the DIA board. Travel expenses also will be reimbursable.
Tarbert was the top-ranked candidate among three finalists who were interviewed in person by the DIA board June 9. The finalists were chosen from a group of 173 applications to a recruiting firm, Jorgenson Pace of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Tarbert spent about 20 years in Baltimore, where his positions included serving in the Baltimore mayor’s office as deputy chief of strategic alliances and deputy mayor in the Office of Economic & Neighborhood Development.
Tarbert announced in early 2025 he was stepping down effective June 13 from his leadership role with the Baltimore Development Corp.