Microsoft & United Bank Join WDCEP’s Board of Directors
The WDCEP is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors. Chris Niehaus, Director, U.S. Office of Civic Innovation will be representing Microsoft while Thomas Nida, Regional President for Washington DC and Maryland, will be representing United Bank on the Board. The addition of organizations like Microsoft and United Bank signal a significant move forward for the Partnership.
The WDCEP is the first point of contact for development and business opportunities in the District of Columbia. WDCEP facilitates economic development through business attraction and business retention programs and activities. The Board of Directors is comprised of representatives of the public and private sector that have investments and businesses in the District of Columbia and a stake in the long-term economic health of the city.
Chris joined Microsoft 12 years ago and has since served in their product development and public sectors. Chris and his team focus on developing and delivering new and unique solutions in the Government, Education and Healthcare communities. Chris has served in this position since December 2009. Before his most recent appointment, Chris was the Director of Technical Sales for Unified Communications, Collaboration and Cloud technologies in Microsoft’s Federal Government business. Joining Microsoft in 2001, Chris led Strategic Business Development and Product Planning for Microsoft’s Exchange Product Suite. During his tenure, Exchange Server grew into the market leading messaging and collaboration platform. Chris received his MBA from the University of Texas, and served as an Engineer Captain in the United States Army. Chris, his wife Katie, and their three sons are nine-year residents of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
Thomas has served as Regional President for United Bank for Washington, D.C. and Maryland since 2004. Along with his work at United Bank, Thomas is also a key proponent of reforming the Districts Public Charter School system. He was appointed to the DC Public Charter School Board by Mayor Anthony Williams in 2003, and was elected Chairman of the Board in 2004, and served in that capacity until February 2010 where he was influential in securing financing for the District’s emerging Charter Schools. He also has real estate development experience, having founded and managed several land trusts focused on renovation of historic commercial properties over the past twenty-four years. Thomas graduated from the University of Wisconsin and completed an Executive Program at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.
WDCEP is excited to welcome both Mr. Niehaus and Mr. Nida and their respective organizations to its Board of Directors.