About The Mercer Group in Florida
Mercer Group Florida office was opened in 2010 by the late W. D. Higginbotham, Jr.
Prior to joining The Mercer Group, Inc. in 2010, Mr. Higginbotham’s (“W.D.” as he was well known) distinguished public sector career of over 30 years included serving as chief executive officer and chief financial officer of cities in Florida and California. He served as City Manager of Gainesville, Florida, Melbourne Beach, Florida, Surfside, Florida, and Madeira Beach, Florida ranging in population from 3,100 to 123,100 and CFO in Bakersfield, California with a population of 352,400.
W. D. also served eight years as the Director of Economic Development for the eleven (11) county, 7,000 square mile area of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council. After being recruited by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) on behalf of the Department of Defense, his service to Florida cities was briefly interrupted in late 2007 and early 2008 when he served in Baghdad, Iraq as a member of the United States Provincial Reconstruction Team.
He was an active member of ICMA and the Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA) and had been recognized by both organizations for over 25 years in the local government management profession until his death in April 2019.
In 2017, after nearly 30 years of recruiting and training in the private and public sector, his wife, Dona, joined him full time in Recruiting for cities and local governments. Dona Higginbotham continues as a consultant and Senior Vice-President for Mercer Group Inc.
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