Bentley Story has been director of business development at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) for the state of Arkansas since 2012. In this role, Bentley manages a staff of 11 working in domestic and international project management, marketing, research and real estate. Bentley leads the organization’s site selection services, recruitment and incentive negotiation.
Prior to being named director, Bentley served as a project manager of business development for the AEDC. While in this role, Bentley was responsible for sectors that included telecommunications, sustainable agriculture, power electronics, data centers and technical support centers. Bentley managed projects such as HP’s location to Conway and Dillard’s Internet Fulfillment Center to Maumelle.
Bentley is a native of Forrest City, Arkansas and received his bachelor’s degree in finance and investments and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
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Todd Battle is the president of the Kenosha Area Business Alliance, a position he has held for the past 11 years. Todd is a high energy, well-rounded economic development professional with considerable experience leading, managing and growing results-oriented economic development organizations.
Within the past two years alone, the Alliance has worked to secure several major, competitive projects that account for more than 4,000 jobs and $800 million in new private investment in Kenosha County, WI. Amazon, InSinkerator, Kenall Manufacturing, Meijer, Niagara Bottling and ULINE are among the firms that are starting or growing operations in Kenosha County.
Prior to joining Kenosha, Todd was the president and chief executive officer of Muskegon Area First and the executive director of Dickinson Area Economic Development Alliance.
Todd has recently been recognized by DCI as a “40 under 40 Rising Star in economic development” and has previously received similar recognition from the Business Journal of Milwaukee.
Todd received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Central Michigan University, where he majored in political science (public administration concentration) and minored in economics. He’s also completed graduate level business courses at Grand Valley State University.
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Victor Smith is the Secretary of Commerce for the State of Indiana. In this role, Victor is a member of Governor Mike Pence’s cabinet and leads the state’s domestic and international economic development agenda. He serves as the head of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the State of Indiana’s lead economic development agency.
Victor’s January 2013 appointment as Secretary of Commerce follows a 17-year career of operations, sales and executive positions, including chief executive officer of CDS Engineering, a precision manufacturing company with locations in the United States, United Kingdom and Asia. With approximately 500 employees, the firm primarily serves the semiconductor capital equipment industry.
Victor has served as an aide to Vice President Dan Qualye and Senator Dan Coats. Governor Mike Pence believes that Victor’s knowledge and experience working with Asian, Pacific Rim and West Coast businesses are crucial in leading the Hoosier State’s job creation efforts and strengthening Indiana’s reputation as a premier state for business.
A native of Muncie, Indiana, he currently resides in Indianapolis with his wife, Kathleen, and their three children. Victor is a graduate of Colgate University and earned his law degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
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Lynn Myers is the vice president of economic development for the Denver South Economic Development Partnership. Since joining Denver South EDP, Lynn has had the opportunity to work with expanding companies in the region including Charles Schwab, Arrow Electronics, TriZetto, Polystrand, Connextions, Blockbuster/DISH, Comcast and Trulia.
Prior to joining Denver South EDP in 2007, Lynn served as an Arapahoe County Commissioner for seven years. Lynn is the past chair of the Centennial Airport Board and the E-470 Public Highway Authority Board.
Lynn serves on the Arapahoe/Douglas Workforce Board and on the Board of Developmental Pathways. She served as president of the Aurora Association of Realtors, vice president of Governmental Affairs for the Colorado Association of Realtors for three years and was a director of the National Association of Realtors for six years.
Lynn is also a big Colorado Rockies baseball fan, loves to travel and is a graduate of Montana State University.
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Kenny McDonald serves as the primary leader of all economic development and business attraction efforts for the 11-county Columbus Region in his position as chief economic officer of Columbus 2020. Kenny has an extensive background in site selection, regional economic development, community marketing, business recruitment and international business development.
Kenny holds the professional designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and serves as an elected member of the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council. In addition, he serves locally on the boards of Columbus Crew, MidAmerican Global Ventures, NAIOP, SciTech and Transportation Research Center.
Previously, Kenny served as the executive vice president of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, a public-private economic development organization covering a 16-county region in North and South Carolina. Kenny’s 16 years of economic development experience also include leadership positions at the Albuquerque Economic Development Corporation, Fluor Daniels Global Locations Strategies and the Savannah Economic Development Authority.
Kenny received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Dickinson State University and a Master of Public Administration from Georgia Southern University.
Kenny writes weekly about economic development and Columbus 2020’s activities on the Columbus Region blog, Economic Development Matters.
Michael Hecht is President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., the economic development organization for southeast Louisiana. GNO, Inc.’s mission falls broadly into two categories: business development – attracting and growing businesses – and product development – creating better business conditions. Under Michael’s leadership, GNO, Inc. was recently named the #2 economic development organization in the United States by Business Facilities magazine.
Before coming to GNO, Inc. Michael led the quarter-billion dollar Katrina Small Business Recovery Program for the state. Previous to coming home to Louisiana, Michael worked for Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City as an Assistant Commissioner, running the post-9/11 small business program.
Michael’s entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding a conglomerate of restaurant ventures, including “Foreign Cinema,” named Restaurant of the Year 2000 in San Francisco. He began his career as a strategic management consultant.
Michael holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and an undergraduate degree from Yale.
Recently Michael has been recognized as “One of the 25 Most Powerful People in the 10/12 Corridor,” and “One of the Top 50 Economic Developers in North America.”
With family roots in Louisiana back to the 1830s, Michael now lives in New Orleans with his wife, Marlene, an ESL professor at Delgado, and his two sons, Dexter and Kaj (“Kī”).
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In his leadership role as president and CEO with the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA), David Ginn works closely with the region’s top business, academic and political leaders to shape and execute a comprehensive regional economic development strategy. He also leads the organization’s day-to-day efforts, and is directly involved with global business development and global marketing initiatives.
David has been with the CRDA since its inception, serving as the organization’s executive vice president and project director before being named president and CEO in 2000. A Certified Economic Development professional, he maintains keen awareness of current issues in economic development, thanks to affiliations with the International Economic Development Council and as past president of the S.C. Economic Developers Association. He has also held professional economic development and industrial marketing positions in Atlanta and Savannah.
David grew up in the Atlanta area, and holds a degree in economics and international business from the University of Southern Mississippi. He also studied abroad at the London School of Economics. He and his wife, Jean, live in Mount Pleasant with their two children.
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Cindy Symons-Milroy has over 27 years of experience in economic development and holds two professional designations; an Ec.D. from the Economic Developers Association of Canada and a CEcD from the International Economic Development Council. Cindy’s work experience covers a broad range of business support including investment attraction, business retention and expansion, labor force development, real estate, airport operations, entrepreneurial development, finance and organization management.
Cindy has spent the last 15 years of her career as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Oshawa, a mid-size city on the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario. Well known for its automotive excellence, since she has been in this role, the City’s economy has diversified beyond automotive manufacturing and today includes significant investment in new post-secondary institutions that have resulted in the development of high tech growth sectors that are driving the new economy.
Cindy grew up in an entrepreneurial environment and knows first-hand the challenges that businesses face. This is part of what contributes to the success of her efforts in attracting and maintaining investment in the City. Her drive to succeed comes from the desire to make a difference in her community.
Cindy’s favorite quote is “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.”
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Brian Hilson is President and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) and is responsible for all areas of the BBA, including economic development, public policy, communications and other programs designed to grow and diversify the Birmingham regional economy and enhance the quality of life for all citizens.
He has been involved in economic development in Alabama since 1980. Prior to his joining the BBA in 2011, Brian was President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. Previously, he was a Vice President of the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board and has held economic development positions with the Birmingham and Mobile Chambers of Commerce. Over the years he has worked with a wide variety of national and international companies’ economic development projects, such as Lockheed Martin, Toyota, LG Electronics, Sterilite Corp., UPS, Delta Air Lines, Verizon and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
A native of Huntsville, Brian is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Huntsville/Madison County, and is active in state and national economic development organizations. He is past president of the Economic Development Association of Alabama and the Japan-America Society of Alabama, and is the 2015 chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama. He is a recipient of the Rainer Bauer Award from the Alabama Germany Partnership and the Samuel Ullman Award from the Japan-America Society of Alabama.
He currently serves on boards of directors or advisory boards of several additional state and local organizations, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Business Council of Alabama. Having spent his entire career in the economic development profession, Brian is a strong believer that employment opportunities are the best way to make communities better.
Brian and his wife, Windy, have two married children. Carlton is an attorney with Burr & Forman in Birmingham and Abby is a teacher in Arlington, Tenn.
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Scott Connell serves as the President of the Sherman Economic Development Corporation in Sherman, Texas and has more than 25 years of experience in economic development. He recently served as Vice President of Economic Development and Senior Vice President of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce since May 2005. In that role, he managed over 4,000 jobs in the Waco area.
Prior to Waco, Scott was the Vice President of Winston-Salem Business Inc. for 7 years in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was involved in attracting 3,900 jobs and $750 million of investment during that time. Scott has also led programs in Kannapolis, NC, Belton and Yoakum, Texas (all start-up organizations) and worked with Victoria, Texas Economic Development Corporation.
Scott and his wife Victoria have a 9-year old son, Paten. They are active in the Waco community where Scott serves as a member of the Vestry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Scott is also an active member of the Waco Rotary Club and serves as chairman of the City of Waco Recycling Advisory Committee.
Scott is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and received his Certified Economic Developer certification in 1999.
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