Virginia Economic Developers Association Governor's Conference on Economic Development October 7-9, 2014 Speaker Profiles Greg
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Virginia Economic Developers Association Governor’s Conference on Economic Development October 7-9, 2014 Speaker Profiles (In Order of Appearance) Gregory Hitchin, CEcD Director of Economic Development City of Waynesboro Greg Hitchin is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) with 15 years of Economic Development experience and has served as the Director of Economic Development and Tourism for the City of Waynesboro since April 2010. Before joining the City, Greg spent 11 ½ years as the Business Development Manager and the Treasurer/CFO of the IDA for the Onondaga County Office of Economic Development in Syracuse, New York. Prior to public service, Greg spent 20 years in Consumer Goods and Services Sales and Marketing in a variety of positions, from Sales Representative to Senior Management. He has a BS from the Rochester Institute of Technology and from the Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute. His industry involvement includes membership on several boards and committees: International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Marketing Committee; Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), Education Committee; Virginia Economic Development Association (VEDA), Director/Vice-Chairman—Program Committee; Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP), Executive Committee, Chairman—Marketing Committee; Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC), Associate Advisory Committee; Waynesboro Downtown Development, Director; Center for Coldwater Restoration, Director. Christine Chmura, Ph.D. President and Chief Economist Chmura Economics & Analytics BLS & Co. Chris is the President and Chief Economist for Chmura Economics & Analytics, a quantitative research and economic development and workforce consulting firm located in Richmond, Virginia, that she founded in December 1999. She is a quoted source on regional and national trends in the media throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, as well as national publications such as the Wall Street Journal. She writes a monthly column on the economy for the Richmond Times Dispatch. Chris was the Chief Economist at Crestar Financial Corporation, formerly the 30th largest bank holding company in the nation. She received her Ph.D. in Business with a major in Finance and a minor in Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Her Masters in Economics is from Clemson University as is her undergraduate degree in Business Administration. Prior to spending eight years in banking, Chris was an Associate Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond for seven years. Chris currently serves on the Governor’s Economic Advisory Board of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Governor’s Commission on Economic Development & Job Creation. She is a former member of Governor Kaine's Commission on Climate Change, the Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation Board of Trustees and the Board of the National Association of Business Economics. Her interest rate forecasts are published in the Blue Chip Financial Forecast. The Housing Market Report publishes her forecasts of housing activity. Chris's forecasts are also available in Virginia Economic Trends, the quarterly economic report published by Chmura Economics & Analytics. E. Wilson Davis, Jr., CEcD Director of Economic Development Chesterfield County BLS & Co. Will Davis was appointed Director of Economic Development for Chesterfield County in January of 2006. He joined Chesterfield County from American Electric Power in Roanoke, Va. where he served as State Manager of Economic Development. Previous to AEP he served as Director of International Marketing for the Governor’s Office, Virginia Department of Economic Development, where he was responsible for the State’s international investment and trade programs as well as the overseas offices. Mr. Davis’ experience also includes management positions with Rukka USA, Inc., East Coast Oil Corporation, Sears, Roebuck & Co., and as an officer in the United States Air Force Reserve. He received a MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, a B.S. in Business Management from East Tennessee State University, and is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. Mr. Davis holds the designation of Certified Economic Developer through the International Economic Development Council. He is past President of the Virginia Economic Developers Association and past chair of the Economic Developers Committee of the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce. He presently serves on the boards of Virginia Capital, John Tyler Community College, the Japan Virginia Society, and the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Davis was born and raised in the Richmond area. He is married to Marice Davis, also a Richmond native. They have two daughters and two grandchildren. Gary R. McLaren Executive Director Henrico County Economic Development Authority BLS & Co. Gary McLaren became Executive Director of the Henrico County Economic Development Authority in April of 2009. He had previously served as Deputy Director of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), Virginia’s primary state-wide economic development agency. He joined the VEDP in 1999 as Director of Business Development where for four years he led Virginia’s domestic and international marketing program to attract additional jobs and investment. McLaren, a native of Colorado, grew up in Milledgeville, Georgia. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1975 with a B.S. degree in business administration with a major in marketing. He is a 1981 graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Gary served as the Director of Economic Development for Chesterfield County for eleven years. Previously he held positions as Director of Economic Development for Chesapeake, Virginia; Director of the Florence County, South Carolina Industrial Development Commission and an industrial representative for the South Carolina State Development Board. He is a past President and member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association, and previously served on the Board of the Southern Economic Development Council; he also serves on the Board of the Japan Virginia Society as Chair of the Nominating Committee. McLaren is also a member of the International Economic Development Council and the Greater Richmond Real Estate Group among other civic organizations. McLaren is married to the former Catherine Watson of Virginia Beach; they have two adult children, Matthew McLaren and Caitlin Figura. Lee Downey Director of Economic Development City of Richmond Lee Downey is currently the Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Richmond, Virginia. In this position since May of 2011, he was appointed by Mayor Dwight Jones to lead the newly formed agency in a comprehensive approach to economic growth, combining both traditional economic development and neighborhood revitalization. Before joining the City's economic development team, Mr. Downey was Vice President for Business Development at McKinney and Company, a multi-discipline planning, design and construction firm located in Ashland, Virginia. His work for the firm included marketing, branding and new business development for two Virginia offices and the firm's international office in Panama City, Panama. Prior to his work at McKinney and Company, Mr. Downey held the position of Marketing Manager for McGuireWoods law firm, supporting the marketing and business development efforts of the firm's litigation teams. Before his work experience in the private sector, Mr. Downey worked as a Project Manager in the Business Development group at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. In this role he managed a variety of location and relocation projects for both domestic and international companies throughout a variety of business sectors. During his early years at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, he held the position of Sites and Buildings Manager, working with localities across Virginia to develop and market their product to prospective industries. In addition to his public work experience on the state level, Mr. Downey worked in a regional government role in Petersburg, Virginia holding positions with both the Appomattox Basin Industrial Development Corporation, a regional economic development group, and the Crater Planning District Commission, a regional planning organization. Mr. Downey holds a Bachelor of City Planning degree and a Masters of Planning degree from the University of Virginia. John O’Neill Managing Partner Hunton and Williams John O’Neill is the managing partner of the firm’s Richmond office and co-head of the public finance group. John’s practice focuses on public-private infrastructure development, public finance, capital finance and complex commercial lending. Substantial experience in structuring transactions for a broad range of public and private infrastructure projects, including airports, roads and highways, convention and conference centers, educational facilities, government administrative facilities and water and wastewater facilities. John received a BA degree from the University of Richmond and a JD degree from Pepperdine University School of Law and is member of the Virginia Bar. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Richmond Bar Association and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. John is a member and a past president of the Bond Club of Virginia. John is a Fellow, American College of Bond Counsel and the Virginia