Ken Lund stepping down as Colorado's economic-development director (Slideshow)

Ken Lund is stepping down as head of Colorado's economic-development office after 3-1/2 years in which the state attracted several major headquarters and developed new incentives intended to focus on high-paying advanced industries.

Fiona Arnold, former executive vice president and general counsel for Vail Resorts Inc., will take over as executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade in January.

Lund, meanwhile, will head back to the private sector, becoming a managing director with PwC's Colorado office, consulting specifically with state and local governments.

Lund becomes the third high-level appointee to step down or announce their exit since Gov. John Hickenlooper won re-election on Nov. 4, joining Chief of Staff Roxane White and Don Hunt, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Lund said in an interview that he had agreed when he accepted the position as Hickenlooper's chief legal counsel in 2011 — and then became OEDIT director just five months later— that he always had planned to stay for just one term.

But his exit means that the official tasked with oversight of what many observers say was the greatest accomplishment of Hickenlooper's first four years in office — his ability to grow the economy and attract jobs — is leaving at a time when the governor has stated that reducing unemployment for key demographic groups will be the priority of his second and final term.

Hickenlooper praised the work of Lund, who was the state official most instrumental in helping him to develop the "Colorado Blueprint" economic-development plan that has been in place since 2011.

Ed Sealover covers government, health care, tourism, airlines, hospitality and restaurants for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Capitol Business" blog. Phone: 303-803-9229.