Virginia Beach economic development director resigns

Charles E. “Chuck” Rigney resigned Wednesday from his post as Virginia Beach’s economic development director, city spokesperson Ali Weatherton-Shook confirmed Friday, following a report by The Virginian-Pilot. 

Rigney had held the position officially for six months after serving as interim director for about eight months following the departure of the department’s former head, Taylor Adams, who left to take an economic development job in Nevada.

Amanda Jarratt, a deputy city manager for Virginia Beach, will serve as interim economic development director until a national search can be conducted for Rigney’s replacement, according to Weatherton-Shook.

Weatherton-Shook declined to comment about why Rigney resigned, citing the city’s human resources policy and saying she could not comment on personnel matters.

Rigney told Virginia Business earlier this year that “the opportunity to work with the largest city in Virginia was greatly appealing.”

“We’re going to miss Chuck, but life goes on,” said Virginia Beach City Council member Robert W. “Worth” Remick.  “We’ve got a great staff and department and city manager. I think we’ll manage.”

When asked to comment on the short tenure of Virginia Beach’s last economic development director, Adams pointed out in an email that he left the role over a year ago and that he doesn’t have “much insight into the present environment.”

However, Adams did say that leading economic development for Virginia Beach was “an amazing job in an incredible city. I only left because the opportunity here … offered a life-changing career step for my family and me. I would still be happily working in Virginia Beach were it not for that.”

Virginia Beach has a lot happening on the economic development side. In September, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Amazon.com’s plans to build a robotics fulfillment center and delivery station in Virginia Beach. Also in 2023, Zim Integrated Shipping Services announced plans to invest $30 million to relocate and expand its U.S. headquarters from Norfolk to Virginia Beach. There’s also Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project and the long-awaited surf park development from celebrity Pharrell Williams.

Also, Williams’ Something in the Water music festival is set to return to the Oceanfront in October, he announced Thursday.

Rigney joined Virginia Beach’s economic development department in February 2023 as a business development administrator. He previously led Hampton’s economic development efforts from 2018 through 2022. He was assistant director for Norfolk economic development from 1997 to 2014, including serving as interim director from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, he was named Portsmouth’s director of economic development, but left the post less than a year later to become economic development director for Norfolk in 2015, a position he held for three years.