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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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An Inside Look: Feat. Tim Feemster of Foremost Quality Logistics

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Tim FeemsterTim Feemster has over 35 years of experience with a variety of hands-on problem solving situations in site selection, logistics, supply chain, real estate, transportation, distribution, lean six-sigma process improvement and marketing. Tim is quoted frequently in the industry press and makes over 20 presentations a year to professional organizations. Tim has been with Foremost Quality Logistics for over 20 years, and is recognized as a thought leader in logistics and real estate.

Before forming Foremost Quality Logistics, Tim was a senior manager in three manufacturing companies, a general manager, a consultant, an executive in two third party logistics providers, most recently over 13 years with Menlo Worldwide Logistics and a Practice Group Leader for two real estate companies. Tim has been responsible for building construction management, transportation & warehouse operations, real estate site selection, strategic planning, lease management, marketing, inventory planning and deployment, lean systems & quality management, economic development strategy consulting and private fleet management.

Tim is passionate about Hire our Heros, Upgrade Soldiers and speaks a little French. Tim is an active member in the Warehouse Education and Research Council (WERC.org), where he is a past president; Council Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP.org), Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) and International Economic Development Council.

Tim holds a Master of Business Administration in marketing from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

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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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An Inside Look: Feat. Margaret Grissom of Peake Consulting

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Margaret GrissomMargaret Grissom is a principal of Peake Consulting, and brings over 27 years of experience in corporate location knowledge, incentive analysis, negotiation/compliance and economic development expertise to the table.  Margaret’s first-hand knowledge of industry trends, as well as public and public-private sector economic development provides her with creative, credible market intelligence to assist companies, communities and states in developing strategic solutions. Margaret’s hands-on experience in site location translates into an effective product and program development improvement. Margaret is an advisor who has the ability to quickly establish trust and rapport, knows how to achieve win-win situations and determines quickly what is most important to her clients and their business.

Margaret is experienced in real estate markets and previously developed industrial parks in her community. She has assisted clients in automotive, consumer markets, and industrial products including Alkermes Pharmaceutical, Avon Products, Inc., YUM! Brands Inc., Stride Rite, Dana Corporation, Daimler Chrysler, Porsche, Magna Corporation and Kobe Steel Company

Previously, Margaret served as President & CEO of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority and Vice President of the Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership.  In both positions, Margaret established new organizational performance standards and evaluations with clear, concise, measurable goals to enhance the skills and expertise of staff. In her role as President & CEO, Margaret established successful new and existing industry programs resulting in millions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs. Margaret was also formerly with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and even owned a resort.

Margaret is a nationally-recognized contributor for publications, such as the Site Selection Magazine and Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives.  She is a popular speaker at Roundtable in the Rockies and to the Association of Biomedical Financial Officers.  Margaret is a Fellow Member of IAMC, currently serving as Program Development Committee Co-chair; and formerly on the Associate Advisory Council.

Margaret received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Louisville and graduated from University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. Margaret was also Assistant Dean, Research Project Advisor and instructor.

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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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An Inside Look: Feat. Carter Wood of Ernst & Young

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Carter Wood HeadshotCarter Wood is a senior manager for Location Investment Services Group at Ernst & Young. Carter works directly with southeastern clients on expansions and relocations to identify sites and secure discretionary incentive programs to off-set initial startup costs. Carter acts as the relationship manager with key client accounts and serves as the firm’s designated subject matter expert and market leader for site selection and incentives negotiations in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. Carter negotiates incentive packages for relocation and expansion projects and is responsible for managing engagement and compliance teams throughout a project’s life cycle.

Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Carter worked with Georgia Department of Economic Development as a statewide project manager. While there, Carter was responsible for recruiting businesses to the State of Georgia with a focus on advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense companies. Carter has recommended statutory incentive programs and discretionary grants to companies on behalf of the State of Georgia as well as provided industrial sites selection services to prospective companies considering Georgia as a place for expansion and relocation.

Carter represents the firm at professional events including giving presentations, speeches and serving on panels discussing market trends and Ernst & Young’s service capabilities. Carter is also a Climate and Sustainability Leader for the southeast area for the firm and maintains a large network of state, local and private contacts to develop projects leads and obtain market insight.

Carter received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Georgia.

 

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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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An Inside Look: Feat. Brad Griggs of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank

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Brad GriggsBrad Griggs is a managing director with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Global Corporate Services group. Brad specializes in negotiating with state agencies and local municipalities to secure economic development incentive packages for his clients. Brad has more than eight years of experience managing business incentives projects, corporate site selection engagements and economic development consulting assignments.

Brad is an expert in the delivery of professional services, with an emphasis on responsiveness to clients, rigorous analysis, and negotiation strategy and implementation. Brad has successfully completed projects with a variety of Fortune 1000 companies as well as projects in the advanced polymer manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, computer software development, consumer products, defense, energy, environmental technology solutions, financial services, food and beverage production and distribution, healthcare, insurance brokerage, medical device manufacturing, paper products manufacturing, packaging and pharmaceuticals industries.

Prior to joining Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Global Corporate Services, Brad worked as a team leader at Ryan LLC, in the firm’s New York office. Other past experience includes site selection and incentives negotiation and compliance services at Duff & Phelps LLC, and corporate tax accounting services at BDO Seidman LLP.

Brad earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting from Loyola University Maryland.

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