The Research Triangle Foundation has handed its leadership reins to Bob Geolas, a Clemson University official and the former coordinator of N.C. State University's Centennial Campus.

Today the nonprofit organization, which operates the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park, named Geolas president and CEO.  RTP is home to more than 170 companies and 38,000 full-time workers and has been a key economic engine for the region for decades.

The foundation lured Geolas back to the Triangle from Clemson's International Center for Automotive Research, which he joined as executive director in its infancy in  2004.

Under his watch ICAR attracted nearly $250 million in investments and $500 million in development and created 2,300 new jobs,  according to the foundation.

Geolas succeeds Rick Weddle, who resigned in February to become CEO of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

The Research Triangle Foundation has hired a Greenboro-based executive search firm to help recruit the organization's next CEO.

The foundation, which oversees the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park, announced today that it selected Jorgenson Consulting to conduct its search, which will be run by a nine-person search committee comprised of foundation board members. The foundation cited Jorgenson's experience in recruiting in the non-profit and economic development arenas.

The foundation is seeking to replace Rick Weddle, who announced his departure in February to become CEO of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

Rick Weddle said he was recruited for half a dozen jobs in the past year before accepting a position as a top economic development recruiter for the Orlando region.

The Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission announced last week that it has hired Weddle, poaching one of the Triangle's best-known business recruiters and cheerleaders.

Weddle has been the CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, which oversees Research Triangle Park, since 2004. While he said he will miss this region, he's eager to tackle a new opportunity.

He spoke by telephone from his home in Cary. Here are some highlights from that interview:

Research Triangle Park's top pitchman is going to Disney World.

Rick Weddle, who has run the Research Triangle Foundation since 2004, has quit to become CEO of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

Weddle is expected to start in Orlando on March 14. He and his wife Ginger will relocate to central Florida from Cary.

Liz Rooks, the RTP foundation's executive vice president, will take over as interim CEO. The foundation oversees the 7,000-acre RTP and is in the process of updating the park's master plan.

The foundation that runs Research Triangle Park, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, is preparing a new strategy to ensure the park remains competitive.

The board of the Research Triangle Foundation is scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss developing a new master plan, said spokeswoman Cara Rousseau. The task force is being led by board member Richard Daugherty, a retired IBM executive.

It will be the first update to RTP's master plan since the nearly 7,000-acre park was formed in 1959, Rousseau said. The new strategy is scheduled to be put in place over the next 12 months.

Foundation CEO Rick Weddle, left, was traveling today and couldn't be reached for further comment. Weddle has said repeatedly that RTP needs to evolve to adapt to new competition and a changing economy.