The most daunting task facing Marie Longserre, the longtime president and CEO of the Santa Fe Business Incubator, as she prepares to retire is also a mundane one.

“I have a lot of papers to clean out of my office after three decades,” she said, laughing.

The incubator board announced Thursday that Longserre, who is the only president and CEO the facility has had since it was launched in 1997, will step down soon, though her exact departure date depends on when her replacement is hired.

Longserre said she would remain on the job until that person comes aboard, a process she estimated would take several months.

In a news release announcing the transition, incubator officials said they have retained the services of the executive recruiting firm Jorgenson Pace to lead a national search for

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