Rodney Crider

バイオグラフィー：Rod Crider currently serves as the president and CEO of the Rowan Economic Development Council in Salisbury, North Carolina. An experienced economic development and marketing executive, he joined the organization in 2017 after serving for 12 years as president of the Wayne Economic Development Council (WEDC) in Wooster, Ohio. During his term at the WEDC, the community was named by Site Selection magazine as one of the top six micropolitan areas in the US for new business growth for 11 consecutive years, and earned recognition as an “American Cities of the Future” for six consecutive years by Foreign Direct Investment magazine. Site Selection also named the WEDC as a Top Twenty economic development organization four times. During his tenure as President & CEO of the Rowan EDC, the organization moved to a public-private partnership model and raised $1.5 million from the private sector to support the community’s growth initiatives, including new programs for existing business retention, talent attraction and marketing. Since 2019, Rowan County has seen its two largest-ever investment attraction project announcements totaling over 4,000 jobs and $735 million in capital investment from those projects alone. The Charlotte Business Journal has named Rowan County as one of the region’s hot spots for new business activity. Crider also serves as chair of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Economic Development Advisory Council (EDAC) and is a member of its Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Throughout his 40-year career, Crider has assisted many communities in furthering their economic and community development interests. Prior to his service in Ohio, he worked with economic development organizations and chambers of commerce in Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana and Ohio. He has also been engaged as a consultant to several communities throughout the Midwest in the areas of strategic planning, leadership transition, regional economic development models, place marketing and economic development funding. He is a past president of the Mid-America Economic Development Council and founder of the Great Lakes Economic Development Council. He was appointed by Ohio Governor John Kasich to serve on the Ohio Tax Credit Authority, a position he held for eight years. He served two terms as chair of the International Economic Development Council’s International Advisory Committee. He is a past director of the Virginia, Tennessee and Michigan Economic Developers associations. Crider earned his MBA degree from Madonna University in 2007. He is also a graduate of Western Michigan University, The Institute for Organization Management at Notre Dame University and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. Crider has earned the distinction of “Certified Economic Developer” from the International Economic Development Council and “Certified Chamber Executive” from the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Crider is one of less than two dozen active development professionals to hold both certifications. Crider and his wife Rita are the parents of four adult children and have two grandchildren.