Category: Regional

Tampa Bay Partnership

The Tampa Bay Partnership is a privately funded, CEO-driven organization focused on public policy and advocacy. It is the place where the region’s highest-level CEOs come together, roll up their sleeves and working on the toughest challenges facing the community. Transportation and Talent are the two top priorities for the organization, along with an initiative to benchmark the region against 19 other peer and competitive markets.

HRS was recruited Rick Homans from within the Tampa Bay market in 2015. The leaders of the Partnership tasked him with transitioning from a regional economic development organization into a strong advocate for systemic change within the region. As a result, Homans subsequently worked with the organization’s leaders to redefine its vision and mission and organizational structure. Today, it is one of the most influential business-led partnerships in Tampa Bay.

Beginning in 2017, the Partnership created a “framework for prosperity” consisting of five major drivers and including 60 diverse indicators – benchmarked against 19 peer and aspirational markets. Based on the results of the Regional Competitiveness Report, the board determined the region would need to move aggressively to ensure it could compete nationally and globally and achieve prosperity for its residents. As a result, the Partnership, with a major grant from JP Morgan Chase, launched Tampa Bay Works to create an employer-led, demand-driven workforce strategy that aligns business needs with the supply of talent. The Tampa Bay Partnership also formed a Transportation Working Group, with about 30 area leaders, to drive the development of regional transit solutions, and other critical transportation infrastructure in the region.

New York State Economic Development Council

The New York State Economic Development Council is the state’s principal organization representing economic development professionals. The 900 members include the leadership of Industrial Development Agencies, Local Development Corporations, commercial and investment banks, underwriters, bond counsels, utilities, chambers of commerce and private corporations.

The purpose of NYSEDC is to promote the economic development of the state and its communities, encourage sound practices in the conduct of regional and statewide development programs, and to develop education programs that enhance the professional development skills of NYSEDC members. NYSEDC has been serving New York’s development professionals for more than 30 years. The Board of Directors and members of NYSEDC represent the highest standards of their profession, and have unparalleled experience and expertise working with state and local economic development programs.

HRS recruited Ryan Silva from the University of Albany to serve as the Executive Director in 2017. The Previous Executive Director retired after 20 years of service. The challenge was to identify someone with the skills, expertise and gravitas necessary to assume the mantel of leadership from an individual who was viewed as the institution.

Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation

The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is the official public-private economic organization representing Montgomery County, Maryland. MCEDC is a start-up organization which was incorporated in the fall of 2015 by unanimous approval of the County Council. Montgomery County is a knowledge-based business and research hub strategically located next to Washington, D.C. and is the epicenter for biotechnology, health information technology, cybersecurity and a diverse range of knowledge industries in the Mid-Atlantic region.

HRS recruited David Petr from Florida to serve as the inaugural President and CEO in 2016. Under his expert leadership, MCEDC closed 94 projects including 3,542 new jobs created, 6,282 jobs retained, $532 million dollars of new capital investment and 2.4 million square feet of commercial real estate absorbed. In addition, the county was named as one of the top twenty finalists in the quest for Amazon’s HQ2. Montgomery County was the only county that made the list which was comprised primarily of cities.

After successfully standing up MCEDC, David founded Shortlisted.com in 2019. Shortlised.com is a unique community amplification and site selection company based in Austin, Texas and Northern, Virginia.

Indy Chamber

The Indy Chamber’s mission is to drive economic growth in the Indianapolis region by attracting job and investment opportunities to the region, advocating for a pro-growth business climate, and connecting businesses to resources and each other. Led by the Indy Chamber, the regional EDO, and in partnership with numerous regional partners, and supported financially by JP Morgan Chase, the region created the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The Indy Chamber launched Accelerate Indy, a plan that expands the region’s traditional priorities – corporate recruitment and an affordable climate – to include appealing to skilled workers and innovation-intensive industries, supporting existing employers and entrepreneurs, and focusing on high-value, global business.

HRS recruited Maureen Krauss from Detroit in 2016 to serve as the Chief Economic Development Officer. During her 3-year tenure, Maureen achieved exceptional results in bringing the Indy Partnership back to national and international prominence. She led the Top 20 Amazon HQ2 proposal for the Indy Region which was hailed by Amazon as one of the top proposals submitted. Maureen led a nine-county regional economic development effort in the Indianapolis Region, in the areas of Business Attraction, Retention and Expansion, Talent Attraction, and International Development. She developed an amazing team that lead to 2018 being the most productive year in the 20-year history of the Indy Partnership for jobs and investment. Maureen implemented the Accelerate Indy and Global Cities Strategy to promote job growth and new investment in the Indianapolis Region while telling the story of the Indy Region around the world.

Maureen is the Founder of a successful economic development consultancy based in Detroit, MI – Donohue Krauss LLC.

Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership

The Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership (Greater MSP) – formerly the Itasca Taskforce – is a regional start-up organization comprised of 13-counties. The organization was created in 2010 to conduct business recruiting/attraction, retention, and entrepreneurial development. The organization was charged with marketing the region on an international basis and developing relationships with site selectors worldwide.

HRS recruited F. Michael “Mike” Langley from Pittsburgh in 2010 to lead this start-up regional economic development organization. As the founding CEO, the Minneapolis Saint Paul region achieved strong job growth and record low unemployment and has been recognized widely for its diverse and resilient economy. The Atlantic published an article citing “The Minneapolis Miracle” and CNBC’s “Top States for Business” ranks Minnesota in the top five for the past three years.

Mike retired from Greater MSP after serving for 9-years. He is a widely recognized economic development strategist who also led successful regional organizations in Florida and Pennsylvania and has provided strategic consulting services to economic regions and organizations for over 20 years. He has served on numerous regional and national boards including the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) where he served as the Board Chair. Mike is currently the Founder and Principal of Langley Economics, LLC.

Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts

The Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts (EDC of Western MA) was created to stimulate and facilitate a vigorous regional economy, encourage and sustain capital investment and energize quality job growth within the Western Massachusetts region and the Knowledge Corridor. The EDC’s mission is to stimulate and facilitate a vigorous regional economy.

Western Massachusetts businesses are strategically located in the center of the Northeast’s major markets while operating at lower costs, offering one of the nation’s leading workforces and enjoying a more affordable, higher standard of living than other areas in the region.

HRS recruited Richard “Rick” Sullivan from the Office of the Governor (Chief of Staff) to serve as the President & CEO of the EDC in 2015. During his tenure, the region has experienced exponential growth across numerous sectors including: Aerospace/Defense, Creative Economy, Education, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Financial Services, Health Care, Information Technology, Life Sciences, Logistics, Manufacturing, Medical Devices, Paper Manufacturing, Plastics, Retail, Tourism, Transportation, and Workforce.

Miami-Dade Beacon Council

The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, a public-private partnership, is the official economic development organization for Miami-Dade County which is the 4th largest population center in the United States. Led by a professional staff and Board of volunteer community leaders, the organization facilitates business growth and expansion locally, nationally and internationally. The Council was founded in 1985 as an outgrowth of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce to focus on business recruitment, expansion and retention.

The Miami-Dade Beacon Council is the steward for the county-wide economic development plan, One Community One Goal, to strengthen and diversify the economy with high paying jobs. Today, the Miami- Dade Beacon Council continues to advance community objectives through a carefully planned action-oriented agenda developed in collaboration with Miami-Dade County officials, education, business and civic leaders.

HRS recruited Larry Williams to serve as the President and CEO from Atlanta in 2013. Larry assumed the mantel of leadership shortly after the organization’s reputation and relationship with key stakeholders had been severely damaged.

During his 3-year tenure with the Beacon Council, Larry reestablished the organization’s credibility and restored stakeholder faith and confidence. Under his leadership, the Beacon Council recruited/retained and expanded 100 companies, representing $986M in New Capital Investment and created 4864 new jobs. Larry successfully led economic development missions to Spain, New York and Atlanta. He participated in the development and implementation of eMerge Americas, a new technology and innovation conference positioning Miami as the technology hub of the Americas

Larry was recruited from the Beacon Council and is now serving as the President & CEO of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). TAG is the largest statewide technology organization in the country with over 35,000 members.