Southern University at Shreveport

Opportunity Starts Here...

Mr. Ronnie L. Bryant, CEcD, FM

Phone: 318-678-4674

Fax: 318-678-4626

E-mail: lthornton@susla.edu

As President and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, Ronnie Bryant leads the economic development organization that promotes the 16-county Charlotte USA region as a premier location for businesses considering expansion or relocation. With more than 30 years of technical, managerial and economic development expertise, Bryant is nationally known for his proven track record of establishing and implementing successful economic development programs, with a strong emphasis on existing industry expansion and retention, regionalism and marketing. Bryant has been recognized for excellence in the field of economic development by the editors of Site Selection magazine by twice naming organizations led by him in Pittsburgh and St. Louis to its list of Top 10 economic development groups in the nation. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ranked him No. 25 on its list of top 50 business leaders, and Charlotte—The City Magazine named Bryant No. 30 in its list of Charlotte’s Fifty Most Powerful.

Prior to Joining CRP, Bryant was President and Chief Operating Officer of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance where he marketed the region and collaborated with regional economic development agencies to develop and implement job creation strategies. Before working in Pittsburgh , Bryant was the Senior Vice President of the Economic  Development Division for the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth  Association where he has been credited with the development of job creation strategies that resulted in more than 117,000 jobs within a five-year period. These professional  skills grew from leading the development team  at the Shreveport, La., Chamber of Commerce, working as a development consultant, and holding managerial and technical positions at AT&T’s Western Electric facility.

 Bryant is a graduate Louisiana State University in Shreveport and the Economic Development Institute (EDI) at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He is a recipient of the American Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) Robert B. Cassell Leadership Award for excellence in Leadership and scholarship that was given to him while in attendance at EDI. Additionally, he holds the distinction of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), which was granted in 1991. Bryant currently serves as a member of EDI’s Board of Directors and faculty, where he lectures on issues related to economic development marketing, professional development and organizational management.

Bryant is well known in national economic development circles and is actively involved with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), where he has been designated as a Fellow Member (FM) and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board. Additionally, he is involved with CoreNet Global, the Urban Land Institute, where he serves as a member, and the Charlotte Research Institute, where he serves on the Board of Directors. His regional professional affiliations include both the North and South Carolina Economic Development Associations. Bryant’s civic participation includes board memberships with both the YMCA of Greater Charlotte, the United Way of Central Carolinas, The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s (Charlotte Branch) Small Business and Agricultural Advisory Council and The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

He and his wife, Sandra, have three children—Rarland, Remeka, and Ronda.

 

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