2nd Greenburgh resident tapped for high level job in Astorino administration

This appeared in the Journal News today. Ned is a leader in the Mayfair/Knollwood civic association. Good luck, Ned.
Posted by Cara Matthews on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
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Astorino picks banking executive for communications post
December10A former journalist and corporate professional will lead Westchester County Executive-elect Rob Astorino’s communications team.

Edwin “Ned” McCormack of Greenburgh today was tapped as Astorino’s communications director, a position responsible for publications and web operations and working with media and the public, among other responsibilities.

He’ll also serve as an adviser.

Astorino said McCormack has been a “trusted friend and adviser” for many years and that the job is a critical one given the challenges his administration faces in shrinking county government and implementing a federal housing settlement.

“There is a great deal of work to be done in turning Westchester County government around and I am confident that Ned will be able to communicate both our overall vision and our day-to-day progress to the myriad Westchester constituencies,” Astorino said.

McCormack is currently an executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he is responsible for communications involving global banking, markets, technology and other operations. Prior to that, he worked at JP Morgan Chase for 13 years in various public relations positions.

McCormack began his career as a reporter with Gannett Westchester Newspapers, a precursor to The Journal News, where he was a reporter, city editor and local columnist. He later went on to the Bergen Record in New Jersey and then to The New York Times where he worked on the business, metro and national desks for three years.

His appointment comes at a time when the incoming administration must tackle some complicated matters like a federal housing settlement and calls to shrink the size of government through cuts, mergers and consolidations, including in the area of communications.

“It’s clear we need to refocus on essential services and ways to be more efficient,” McCormack said today. “There’s no part of government that shouldn’t be scrutinized.”

McCormack said he’s looking forward to the challenges.

He is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he majored in government, and he has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from New York University.

The appointment is the third significant one for Astorino. He previously announced that Kevin Plunkett, an attorney in private practice, will be the deputy county executive and Mount Pleasant Supervisor Robert Meehan will be county attorney.

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