Rob Cleveland has wasted little time in surging to the top of his game and it has not gone unnoticed. In fact, the affable President of Cornerstone Alliance has learned today that he is ranked among the Top 50 Economic Developers in all of North America. That's no small feat when you look at the vast majority of his colleagues on the list released today by Consultant Connect, a consulting agency designed to bridge the gap between economic developers and site consultants.
Others on the elite list hail from the likes of Phoenix, Albuquerque, San Antonio, Dallas, Dayton, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Charlotte, and even entire statewide specialists from Ohio, Connecticut, Virginia, Missouri, Idaho, Arkansas, and others.
I reached out to Cleveland for his reaction. He says, "I am humbled to be considered for such a great honor and to be recognized with my economic development peers." He adds, "Consultant Connect has been a really positive experience and allowed local economic development organizations to interact with site consultants from around the country. I'm proud to be a part of the Top 50 ED professionals."
Carla Winchester is Managing Partner at Consultant Connect, headquartered in Kalamazoo. She says the economic development professionals selected for the Top 50 in North America list were nominated by their colleagues in both the economic development industry and the site consultant community "for excellent practices, innovation and success in building the communities they serve."
Each Top 50 economic developer will be featured in a forthcoming ebook. These industry leaders will be interviewed for the ebook to share their expertise in the field and leadership insights they've learned along the way. Winchester says Consultant Connect strives to uplift the industry by "recognizing remarkable economic developers for the entire economic development community to learn from."
Ron Kitchens of Kalamazoo is also a Managing Partner at Consultant Connect. He tells us, "This annual list recognizing North America's Top 50 Economic Developers is designed to acknowledge the hard work of the top leaders in this field and elevate the conversation around economic development and job creation." He adds, "Each of the leaders represented on this year's list are beyond deserving of this recognition for their efforts in building our communities."
Rob Cleveland was the only economic development professional in the entire state of Michigan to make the list for 2017. He has been President & CEO of Cornerstone Alliance since taking over the role in October of 2015. He came to the community from American Electric Power Company, and is a Certified Economic Developer by the International Economic Development Council.
Congratulations on a job well done, Mr. Cleveland.
