BG Area Chamber of Commerce names executive vice president of economic development and innovation
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that Brian Mefford has been selected as executive vice president of economic development and innovation.
Mefford will lead the chamber’s regional economic development efforts, including business attraction, expansion and retention, serving as the primary staff leader for the Bowling Green Area Economic Development Authority, the Bowling Green ITA and the South Central Kentucky Regional Development Authority, according to a release.
The chamber says Mefford will also “develop regional strategies with local governments, Western Kentucky University, Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College, utilities and workforce partners; grow service partnerships across the 10- county labor shed and strengthen relationships with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, the Tennessee Valley Authority and site selection professionals.”
“Brian has spent his entire career doing what we ask of this role every day: building partnerships, attracting investment, and turning big ideas into jobs and opportunity,” said Jim Page, president and CEO of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce. “This region has an incredible economic development track record, and we will continue to be relentless in the pursuit of quality, good-paying jobs for area residents. We will also be aggressive in our efforts to diversify the economic base through innovation and technology sector growth. Brian’s proven experience, natural leadership skills, and global network make him uniquely qualified to help guide this region’s economic development activities.”
According to the release, Mefford is the founder and former CEO of Connected Nation, Inc., the Bowling Green-based organization he grew into a national enterprise with more than 110 employees in over 30 states and a project portfolio of nearly $100 million. Under his leadership, the release says it became the largest federal contractor supporting the NTIA/FCC broadband technology program and consistently earns a “Best Places to Work” award in Kentucky.
Beginning his state career as the governor’s economic development legislative liaison and chief of staff to the Economic Development Cabinet secretary, the release says Mefford shaped the administration’s policy and legislative initiatives. He later returned as the cabinet’s Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, overseeing roughly $30 million in programs for innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship and leading statewide startup and small-business initiatives.
He led Kentucky’s partnership with MIT’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program, making it the first U.S. state chosen for the program’s international cohort, and co-founded the Commonwealth Commercialization Center (C3), a partnership among state agencies, universities, and the private sector that provides grants, investments, and mentorship to founders and researchers, the release says.
In addition, the chamber says Mefford “authored Kentucky’s Prescription for Innovation, which drew a $900,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant and more than $4 million in state investment to take it statewide, and founded CNX Inc., a software company whose patent-pending platform helps governments and broadband providers share assets to accelerate fiber and 5G growth. He has testified before Congress and worked with the FCC and White House in support of federal economic development policy.”
The chamber says Mefford has advised leaders worldwide, serving on the Malaysia International Advisory Panel at the invitation of the Malaysian Prime Minister, representing the United States as a delegate at the 2008 APEC forum in Tokyo, and joining the New York Academy of Sciences’ Global Science & Innovation Advisory Council. He also served as lead consultant on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Opportunity Online initiative and as executive sponsor for IRMA India, an NGO empowering rural women.
At home, Mefford has served on the Board of Directors of the Bowling Green ITA for 13 years, has chaired the Kentucky Historical Society and taught startup fundamentals in the University of Kentucky’s MBA program. A 1995 Centre College graduate with a B.S. in Economics, he has served on Centre’s Board of Trustees since 2015, chairs its Strategic Planning Committee and is a Young Alumnus Award recipient, the release says.
“Brian brings a rare combination of entrepreneurial experience and statewide, national, and global perspective,” said Roddy Grimes, chairman of the Chamber Board of Directors. “The Chamber Board is confident he will help our region compete for the best opportunities and grow the businesses already here.”
Mefford’s honors include the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s 2006 Excellence in Economic Development Award, the Southern Growth Policies Board’s Innovator Award, and theAlliance for Public Technology’s Susan G. Hadden Pioneer Award. The Wall Street Journal named an initiative he led one of the world’s seven most creative economic development efforts of 2008, and his work has been profiled in The Economist and featured on C-SPAN’s The Communicators.
“Economic development works best when local government, business, and education are all at the table,” said Doug Gorman, judge-executive of Warren County. “Brian knows how to bring those partners together, and he will lead a dynamic economic development team from the Chamber staff that is ready to deliver results.”
“Bowling Green has been home to my work for most of my career, and I’ve seen what this community can do when all sectors are united by a shared vision,” Mefford said. “I’m excited to help the entire region compete, diversify, and create opportunity for the next generation.”
Mefford begins his role Oct. 19.
