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From The Ground Up: Feat. Rodrick Miller of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation

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Rod MillerRodrick Miller is a results-oriented leader with over 10 years of experience in economic development, strategic planning, trade and foreign investment, and project finance. He is respected globally for his ability to maneuver in extraordinarily complex political and business environments, and craft strategies and structure deals to provide long-term value to communities and investors.

Currently, Rod is serving as President & CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC). As CEO of DEGC, Rod is firmly committed to enhancing strategies and programs that are aggressive and effective, thoughtful and focused, and that play to the inherent strengths of the local market. Previously, Rod served as the founding president and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA), the official economic development organization responsible for ensuring the long-term economic vitality and driving job growth for the City of New Orleans. In that role, his team was responsible for nearly $900M in new private sector investment and over 7,500 new jobs. Prior to that position, Rod served as the Executive Vice President of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber where he managed day-to-day operations, developed strategic initiatives, and helped deliver on the firm’s $20M capital campaign. He has held other roles in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Rodrick holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Science degree in international business from St. Augustine’s College. He also earned a Graduate Diploma in Finance from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) as a Fulbright Fellow.

A scholar practitioner, he is a sought after lecturer and contributes to various publications. He is a term member of US Council on Foreign Relations, is a board member of the International Economic Development Council, and sits on the Federal Reserve Board’s Community Advisory Council. Rod has received numerous accolades including Ebony Magazine’s 30 under 30, Phoenix Business Journal’s Top 40 under Forty, Top 100 Tech Influencers in the Silicon Bayou, Young Economic Developer of the Year by the International Economic Development Council, and numerous others. He enjoys playing the piano, reading, and spending time with his son. Rod is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese.

 

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Jonathan Sangster of Georgia Power

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Jonathan SangsterJonathan Sangster serves as general manager of economic development for Georgia Power. Jonathan is responsible for business recruitment and support services for the strategic location decision process. Jonathan’s team of statewide project managers assist in the location, expansion or start-up of businesses wishing to invest in Georgia, helping companies identify potential communities, buildings and sites throughout the state. Support services include engineering evaluation and analysis of sites, as well as preliminary site design and industrial park development. Custom mapping capabilities, industry-specific research and demographic data provide additional project support. Jonathan is also responsible for the Georgia Resource Center, a world renowned multimedia facility for assistance with strategic location decisions.

Before joining the Economic Development team in January 2013, Jonathan was the senior managing director at CBRE Consulting, a nationally recognized business location and site selection firm. In that role, Jonathan led a consulting team that helped clients find “best fit” locations for corporate headquarters relocations, customer care operations, manufacturing, distribution and research and development operations.

Jonathan is a member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association, Industrial Asset Management Council and the Utility Economic Development Association. Jonathan also serves as a Working Partner with Georgia Allies, the state’s public-private collaborative marketing initiative.

Jonathan holds a Bachelor’s in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s in Business Administration from Georgia State University. He is an active volunteer at Dunwoody Baptist Church and enjoys tennis, softball, music and drama.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Gary Thompson of Regional Growth Partnership

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Gary ThompsonGary Thompson, CPA has had a career has ranging from accounting to sales to economic development. He began his career as an accountant in public service and then private industry for several years before he began to work in sales for a large architectural and engineering firm in Toledo, Ohio. Gary was recruited to an architectural firm in Farmington Hills, Michigan where he worked in business development. Returning to Ohio, he joined the Oregon Economic Development Foundation where he worked for five years.

In 2012, Gary was recruited to join the Regional Growth Partnership as executive vice president and manage the JobsOhio program for the Northwest Ohio Region as its director. He is the past marketing chair of the Northwest Ohio Regional Economic Development Association (NORED) and past chair of the Toledo Metro Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) Communications Committee. Gary currently serves on the board of the Ohio Economic Development Association.

Gary is married to Dawn, an educator, and together they are raising three young men, Alec, Owen and Evan. Gary is a graduate of the University of Toledo.

 

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Doug Rasmussen formerly of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership

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Doug RasmussenDoug Rasmussen previously served as a Senior Vice President, Business Development at the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership where he oversaw business retention/expansion, business development and New Market Tax Credits. He successfully implemented 97 business retention/expansion projects resulting in 59,767 jobs created and retained and $2.7B in new capital investment.

Today, Doug is a Senior Associate in the St. Louis office and part of the Specialty Tax Service line of Duff & Phelps. He has 14 years of experience in economic development and real estate development in both the private and public sectors.

Doug specializes in the structuring and negotiating of business incentives and real estate development incentives that assist businesses in lowering their operating costs. He has extensive experience with tax abatement, TIF, NMTCs, special taxing districts, and other state and local incentive programs. Doug also has extensive experience with site selection and the site selection process.

Doug also previously worked for Green Street Development Group, where he raised over $47.0M in the public sector capital in support of Green Street’s development projects and end user clients. Key subsidies obtained included, TIF, New Markets Tax Credits, Ch99 and Ch100 Tax Abatement, Community Improvement Districts, Enhanced Enterprise Zone Tax Credits, MO BUILD Tax Credits, MO Development Tax Credits, MO Workforce Grants, and municipal level forgivable loans. And while at the St. Louis Regional Chamber, as the director of business recruitment, Doug managed the recruitment and site selection of over 2.6 million square feet and $454 million in new office and industrial projects.

Doug received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.A. from Saint Louis University. He is on the board of the Missouri Economic Development Council and is the Vice President of the Missouri Economic Development Finance Association.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. John Greuling of the Will County Center for Economic Development

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John Greuling 2John Greuling is the president and chief executive officer for the Will County Center for Economic Development. John has held this position for almost 15 years. John is also a WIB Board of Directors member, which is the workforce services division of Will County.

During the past 30 years, prior to joining the Will County CED in 2001, John managed the economic development program for the state of Colorado, directed community economic development initiatives in Colorado, Illinois and North Carolina and headed a private consulting firm providing location assistance to corporations.

John is the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Development Council and a founding Board Member for the Will County Community Foundation. John also enjoys playing guitar and reading.

John received his Bachelor of Science degree in philosophy from Illinois State University and a Master’s of Science in Community and Regional Planning from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Chris Chung of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

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Chris ChungIn 2015, Christopher Chung joined the new Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) as Chief Executive Officer. As a public-private partnership, the EDPNC performs a number of economic development functions on behalf of the State of North Carolina, including new business recruitment, existing business support, international trade and export assistance, small business start-up counseling, and tourism, sports, and film promotion. With a staff of more than 60 professionals and an annual operating budget of $19 million, the EDPNC is focused on advancing the economic interests of North Carolina’s 100 counties and 10 million residents.

From 2007 to 2014, Chris served the Missouri Partnership as the public-private, non-profit corporation’s first Chief Executive Officer. In addition to leading the organization through its initial start-up phase, Chris directed the Partnership’s efforts to market Missouri for new business investment and recruit new corporate operations. During his tenure, the Missouri Partnership helped to recruit major facility investments by IBM, CertainTeed, Yanfeng Automotive Systems, Blue Buffalo Pet Foods, KWS Saat AG, and Aviation Technical Services.

Chris also previously served as Manager of the State of Ohio’s Office of Business Development, managing an $80 million annual incentives budget and leading Ohio’s front-line sales force dedicated to attracting new business investment and job creation to the state. Prior to that, Chris held various positions in corporate site selection and special projects management, assisting companies considering Ohio for new facilities.

Chris was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He attended The Ohio State University (OSU), graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a double-major in Japanese and economics, and has completed significant coursework towards a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Management from the OSU John Glenn School of Public Affairs.

 

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Rachel Pierson Delamain of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber

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Rachel Pierson DelamainRachel serves as director of business development (consultant recruitment) at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) by driving business attraction initiatives and working with state and local officials, utilities and community foundations to communicate strengths and resources to companies and consultants seeking locations for new facilities within the nine-parish Capital Region.

Prior to working at BRAC, Rachel was an account executive at KTAL News Channel 6-NBC in Shreveport, LA.

Rachel is a member of the Southern Economic Development Council, Louisiana Industrial Executives Association and the Commercial Investment Division of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors.

Rachel earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from Louisiana Tech University. Rachel is also a graduate of Donaldson Real Estate School and earned her certification for Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Randy Kelley of Three Rivers Planning and Development District, Inc.

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Randy Kelley HeadshotRandy Kelley has been the executive director of Three Rivers Planning and Development District, Inc. in Pontotoc, Mississippi since 1976. The PUL Alliance and subsequent Toyota industry moving into Northeast Mississippi is perhaps the best, but only one of the many examples, in which Three Rivers and Randy have served to facilitate partnerships, cooperation and collaboration among a variety of institutions and agencies in Northern Mississippi. Three Rivers Planning & Development District, Inc. operates multiple corporations including: Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority, Three Rivers Local Development Company, Inc.(SBA), Three Rivers Community Development Entity (U.S. Treasury), Three Rivers Area Agency on Aging,  P.U.L. Alliance, G.M.&O. Rails to Trails Recreational District of North Mississippi and the Mississippi Partnership Workforce Development, Inc. to name a few.

He is a past president of NADO, served as MAPDD president, has testified before Congress on Rural Development issues multiple times and served on countless committees, boards and task forces in his tenure at Three Rivers.

Randy has received the NADO’s J. Roy Fogle Award for Outstanding Executive Director, NADO President Award for outstanding leadership, ARC Federal Co-Chairman award for outstanding Economic Development activities, U.S. Small Business Administration Outstanding SBA Lender in Mississippi and Regional Rehabilitation Center Red Raspberry Humanitarian award.                                                                             

Randy attended the University of Mississippi and earned a Bachelor of Arts in banking and finance and a Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. David Swenson of York County Economic Development

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David SwensonDavid Swenson serves as director for York County Economic Development where he leads the business recruiting, existing industry and targeted marketing efforts for York County, SC.  David works directly with the York County Council, the York County Economic Development Board, local governments within York County, the South Carolina Department of Commerce and other state agencies, local businesses, utility providers and the general public.  David is very engaged in international and domestic marketing and business development efforts with a strategic focus on assisting site location consultants, manufacturers of transportation equipment, aerospace products, advanced materials, machine manufacturers as well as warehouse and distribution companies, corporate headquarters and back office operations.

David joined York County Economic Development in 2014 after spending close to eight years leading the Charlotte Regional Partnership’s business development and marketing efforts for the 16 county region. Prior to his time in Charlotte, David spent 11 years in local and regional economic development in the Southeast and in site location consulting at Fluor Daniel Corporation.

David holds professional memberships in the South Carolina Economic Developers Association, the Southern Economic Development Council and the International Economic Development Council.

David holds an Master of Science degree in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Bachelor of Science degree in economic geography from the University of North Dakota. David is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and earned his Certified Economic Developer (CEcD).

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Chris Camacho of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council

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Chris CamachoChris Camacho is the President & CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council where he manages the organization’s domestic and international strategies to build a more diverse economy in Metropolitan Phoenix.

Prior to becoming President, Chris was the executive Vice President of business development where he oversaw business development efforts with particular expertise in renewable energy, emerging technology, tax policy and international economic development. Chris managed the domestic and international strategies in attracting new industry to the market.

Chris has held leadership roles in several strategic councils within the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Chris also served as president of the Arizona Association of Economic Development (AAED) and has been named Economic Developer of the Year. He is involved in community non-profits including Chicanos Por La Casa, and sits on the boards for the Arizona Business Education Coalition, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Valley of the Sun United Way and the International Economic Development Council.

Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Southern Illinois University and his Masters in Public Administration Public Policy, and Tax Analysis. Chris also obtained his Economic Development Certification from the University of Oklahoma.

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