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An Inside Look: Feat. Alex Frei of Cushman & Wakefield

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Alex FreiAlex Frei is the Director of the Business Incentives Practice (BIP) within the Global Business Consulting (GBC) Group at Cushman & Wakefield.  BIP is a specialty practice within GBC focusing on cost mitigation strategies as part of location strategy in the form of state, local and other economic development and tax incentives. Alex has vast experience negotiating both statutory and discretionary incentive packages nationwide for a variety of industry sectors. Alex is widely recognized by the major economic development agencies as one of the top incentives negotiators in the United States.

Prior to Cushman & Wakefield, Alex was the Director of Corporate Services at Pollina Corporate Real Estate and also served as the Sales Manager and Engineering Manager at Eisenmann where his responsibilities included lead generation, sales presentations, proposal development, estimating, customer management, contract negotiations and change order management.

Alex has won the LEED Accredited Professional designation and is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Illinois. Alex has been a participant in the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and is an active member of Access Living’s marathon fundraiser committee. Alex is also fluent in Spanish and German.

Alex received his Bachelors of Science in mechanical engineering from Bradley University and his Master of Business Administration from Northern Illinois University.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Wendy Dant Chesser of One Southern Indiana

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Wendy Dant ChesserWendy Dant Chesser is president and chief executive officer of One Southern Indiana, the chamber of commerce and economic development agency for Clark and Floyd counties in Indiana.

Prior to joining One Southern Indiana, Wendy was president of Cornerstone Alliance, an economic development organization in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  At the time, the Cornerstone chamber had 700 members and Wendy oversaw a $3.3 million annual budget and led a staff of 15.

Wendy has also worked in various aspects of economic and rural development for more than seven years with the state of Indiana. Wendy spent the last year of her government career as deputy executive director for program operations of the Indiana Department of Commerce.

Wendy is a member of the Economic Development Leadership group and Engage Alumni Network. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Indiana University Southeast.

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An Inside Look: Feat. Jubal Smith of Jones Lang LaSalle

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Jubal SmithJubal Smith is Executive Vice President in the Business and Economic Incentives (BEI) Practice of Jones Lang LaSalle.  Jubal has sixteen years of experience in state and local economic development, incentives negotiation, site selection and identification and securing of state and local tax credits.

Prior to joining Jones Lang LaSalle, Jubal was a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young LLP Business Credits, Incentives & Site Location Practice and a Director with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP State and Local Tax Credits, Site Location, and Incentives Practice, both in Dallas, Texas.  Previous positions include: Director of Economic Development for the City of Austin, Texas and Project Manager for Entergy’s Office of Economic Development in Little Rock, AR.

Jubal is a Certified Economic Developer, a member of the International Economic Development Council and the Texas Economic Development Council.  Jubal is an instructor at the Mid-South Economic Development Course at The University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a focus on educating leaders in economic development. He is also a frequent speaker on topics related to economic development, credits and incentives at conferences, forums and various Governor planning and discussion panels.

Jubal graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mississippi State University and a Master’s Degree in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Michael Ogan of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber

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Michael OganMichael Ogan is the director of business development for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. Mike’s responsibilities include managing the Chamber’s business recruitment program, staff and marketing of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area as a business location to local, national and international firms and consultants. Mike also works with the Chamber’s Business Retention and Expansion staff to support the growth of existing firms as well as assist Chamber leadership in providing policy analysis and recommendations on decisions or initiatives being considered by the City Council that impact the local economy or business climate. Mike is responsible for managing and coordinating the Chamber’s organizational and program support for the Greater Oklahoma City Partnership, a 10-county regional economic development partnership.

During his tenure in Oklahoma City, Mike has worked with more than 50 companies to help them locate or expand operations which directly added more than 17,000 new jobs and more than $1 billion dollars in capital investment to the Oklahoma City region’s economy. While in Portland, he assisted more than 80 firms that directly added more than 12,000 new jobs to the Portland region’s economy.

Prior to joining the Oklahoma City Chamber, Mike was the senior business development manager for the Portland Development Commission in Portland, OR. While there, Mike managed and participated in all phases of the business retention, expansion and recruitment processes. Mike was responsible for marketing and promoting the Portland metropolitan area as a business location. Mike also developed and negotiated services and incentives provided to firms, and managed the provision of organizational and program support to the Portland Regional Partners for Business, a 6-county regional economic development partnership.

Mike received his Bachelor of Science in urban and regional planning from California State Polytechnic University-Pomona and his Master of Science in urban and regional planning from Portland State University.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Larry Burkhardt of the Fox Cities Regional Partnership

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Larry BurkhardtAs the Executive Vice President for the Fox Cities Regional Partnership in Wisconsin, Larry Burkhart has more than twenty years of leadership, managerial and marketing experience in city, county, regional and national economic development corporations. Larry’s economic development priorities include strategic planning and promoting discussion of the hard questions that result in a realistic community vision and increased success. He is a problem solver with a track record of results, known for his fiscal restraint and encouragement of co-workers to develop self-directed initiatives and goals.

Larry’s entire career has been focused on community building: city elected office, many policy boards, workforce development, economic development and community collaboration. Prior to joining Fox Cities, Larry was the president of the Nevada County Economic Resource Council in California and a former Councilman and Mayor of Longmont, Colorado.

Larry loves food and wine, finger style and ragtime guitar playing, and has a travel goal of two new countries a year. Larry is also a member of the Fox Cities Morning Rotary, a past president of Greeley Redeye Rotary Club and a member of the International Economic Development Council.

Larry received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Duns Scotus College, a Theology degree from St. Leonard College and an economic development degree from the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.

 

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Jennifer Owens of Lakeshore Advantage

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Owens_Newphoto-298x195Jennifer Owens joined the Lakeshore Advantage team as president in May 2014. Jennifer brings outstanding experience in business retention, expansion and attraction to the organization. Jennifer’s insight and understanding of economic development make her ideal to support or develop initiatives that help businesses thrive in West Michigan’s Lakeshore community. In her capacity, Jennifer delivers direct business attraction, expansion and retention services, while providing overall leadership to the organization.

Prior to joining the Lakeshore Advantage team, Jennifer held the position of vice president at Southwest Michigan First where she led the firm’s new business attraction efforts, leading to investments from companies such as General Mills, Hark Orchids and Newell Rubbermaid. Her accomplishments also led her to be named one of the nation’s Top Economic Developers Under 40 in 2013. In addition, Jennifer held key positions at Ann Arbor SPARK and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

In Jennifer’s free time, she loves to run. Jennifer has run many road races and competed in several half and full marathons. Jennifer and her husband Mike have three sons who are always up for a race.

Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Michigan State University and is pursuing an Executive Management degree from the University of Notre Dame.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Tim Cowden of Kansas City Area Development Council

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Tim CowdenTim Cowden is senior vice president of Business Development (Corporate Relocation) for the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC). Tim leads KCADC’s prospect attraction efforts for the KC area, which is one of the country’s largest metro footprints for development. Tim has held this position for the past 16 years. Tim’s focus includes advanced manufacturing, headquarters, bioscience/animal health, logistics/transportation, energy and information technology projects. Some of the corporate recruitment successes that Tim has been involved with include projects related to Aviation Technical Services, MindMixer, Sedgwick LLP, Targeted Metrics, Netsmart Technologies, U.S. Bank, Sara Lee Corporation, Wal-Mart, Coleman, Kimberly Clark and Farmer’s Insurance, to name but a few.

With over 25 years in economic development, Tim brings solid skills to the development process from his private sector experience in real estate and business management. He also has a strong understanding of manufacturing, distribution operations and headquarters attraction. Tim has provided location consulting assistance and leadership to companies such as FedEx Ground, Wal-Mart, Farmer’s Insurance, US Bank, Intel and Mars Chocolate North America.

Tim received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma. He is involved in many local volunteer organizations and is a big supporter of University of Oklahoma football.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Justin Horvath of the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership

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Justin HorvathJustin Horvath is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership (SEDP), the economic development organization serving Shiawassee County, Michigan. Justin has been with the SEDP for over 13 years, with various responsibilities including:

  • providing customized services to existing businesses in the county, encouraging retention and expansion of jobs and capital investment
  • implementing a business recruitment program, with a focus on fostering regional and statewide marketing partnerships
  • coordinating a public relations effort to gain support from program funders, community leaders, economic development peers and the public at large

Justin has also served as a councilman for the City of Owosso, ensuring local government services were provided to the community’s 15,000+ residents in an efficient and cost-effective manner. As part of this role, he represented the council on the City’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority/Local Development Finance Authority.

Justin is a member of the International Economic Development Council (and holds a Certified Economic Developer designation from the organization) and the Michigan Economic Developers Association. He has also served as the industry division chair of the Shiawassee United Way Campaign.

Justin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Master of Arts degree in Applied Economics and a Master of Public Policy degree, all from the University of Michigan.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Bentley Story of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission

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bentleystoryBentley 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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An Inside Look: Feat. Brett Bayduss of Site Selection Group

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Bayduss-colorAs executive vice president and founding partner of Site Selection Group, Brett Bayduss is a critical part of the management team and manages all aspects of the location advisory division.

Bayduss brings 15 years of location advisory experience to the company. He has completed more than 400 site selection projects for clients, including American Express, Becton Dickinson, Marriott, McKesson and Medtronic.

Prior to joining Site Selection Group, Bayduss was vice president of the Corporate Site Selection Group at Trammell Crow Company, where he conducted in-depth site selection research of locations across the world on behalf of corporate customers.

Bayduss was a team recipient of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 William Dorsey Site Selection Award, presented by Site Selection Magazine. He was recognized for his career accomplishments by the Dallas Business Journal for the “Heavy Hitter” award in 2005 and the “Top 35 Under 35” in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. He also was recognized as a “Power Broker” by the CoStar Group in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Bayduss is a noted expert in trade publications, including as Area Development and National Real Estate Investor.

He is a licensed real estate salesman in the State of Texas and holds a master’s degree in geography-site selection from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a bachelor’s degree in urban planning-geography from Binghamton University.

 

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