Jennifer Hsin has been elected chair of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. board of directors, completing a full leadership reset at the county's business-attraction agency within seven months.

The MCEDC announced Hsin's election in a press release issued Friday. She replaces Elana Fine, an executive consultant for Hightower Advisors who served the maximum term allowed under the board's bylaws.

Hsin spent more than 20 years at Clark Enterprises, a Bethesda-based private investment firm that closed at the end of 2025, according to Bethesda Magazine. She also serves as a University of Maryland lecturer. During Fine's term, Hsin served as vice chair of the board's executive committee before stepping into the top role.

She said in the press release that she sees the agency as ready to meet current challenges and shape a stronger future for Montgomery County.

Leadership reset

The chair transition comes after MCEDC hired Jared Smith as president and CEO in December 2025, following a 10-month nationwide search. Smith previously served as Director of Economic Development for the City of Henderson, Nevada, where his MCEDC biography credits him with supporting the creation of more than 20,000 jobs.

Fine, who led the board through that CEO search, called Smith's hiring "a defining moment for Montgomery County's economic future."

MCEDC is the county's official economic development entity, a nonprofit public-private partnership established in 2015 that works independently from but in coordination with county government to support existing businesses and attract new ones.

Other board changes

Anne Khademian, executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, will serve as vice chair. Vikram Manikonda, a professor of the practice in the University of Maryland's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, fills Fine's vacated board seat. County Executive Marc Elrich appointed Manikonda on the board's recommendation, and the County Council confirmed the appointment at its June 16 meeting.

The organization now operates under entirely new leadership as it works to market Montgomery County to prospective businesses and support those already here.