Daniel O'Connell, executive director of the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency, said yesterday he will resign his post this month for personal reasons.
O'Connell, 44, has been head of the agency since January 1993. Before he joined MIFA, he was the managing partner at the Boston law firm Gadsby & Hannah.
While at Gadsby, O'Connell specialized in public and private financings, zoning, and land use laws. He also served as an economic adviser for the Boston suburb of Chelsea.
From 1976 through 1979, he served as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass.
O'Connell was the third executive director at the MIFA. He followed former directors Joseph D. Blair and Brian S. Carty.
MIFA has issued more than $7 billion of municipal bonds for more than 2,500 projects since it was created in 1978.
Robert L. Beal, chairman of the MIFA board of directors, said he was sad to see O'Connell leave, calling him an "outstanding executive director."
Beal said the board had not decided on a replacement for O'Connell.
