Howard Lazarus has been unanimously appointed Delaware County’s new executive director.

Delaware County Council made the appointment during its July 1 public meeting.

Lazarus, a Broomall native, was chosen among 140 candidates nationwide.

He has more than 30 years of  experience in the public and private sectors, as well as military service.

He will begin his new role in mid-July.

Hours after he was appointed, he drafted a memo to County employees.

”I look forward to working side-by-side as we pursue public service excellence,” Lazarus said in the memo. “Our County government consists of amazing people who have dedicated their lives to the service of others.

“You operate in the lane between where we are now and where we aspire to be. We will have spirited and robust discussions on how we get to our destination, but we should always have confidence that we will remain focused on the policy direction that Council has established.  I look forward to embarking down this new road with all of you.”

Lazarus graduated Marple Newtown High School, where he was a varsity athlete and member of the National Honor Society.

“Howard Lazarus brings a great deal of public service experience to Delaware County as well as a vision and enthusiasm for the future of Delaware County,” said Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek. “Our goal is to revamp and rebuild a better government and that requires change and a cultural shift. Howard is the change agent we need to help us to become a more successful County.”

Lazarus served as City administrator for Ann Arbor, Michigan and as the City Public Works director and Interim Assistant City manager for Austin, Texas.

He also served as the director of Engineering and Public Works for Newark, New Jersey from 1996-2000, and was an associate professor of Environmental Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy.

He is an Army veteran, serving as a Company Commander and Senior Staff Officer.

In his private sector positions, he was responsible for strategic planning and business development, personnel, contracting, and service delivery with customer satisfaction and profit/loss responsibilities.

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lazarus  went on to receive his Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University.

He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and attended the Senior Executives in State and Local Government course at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.