The Value in Regional Economic Development

James Fenton – Executive Director Gallatin Economic Development Agency

James Fenton is the Executive Director of the Gallatin Economic Development Agency, where he has worked for nine years. During his tenure in Gallatin, the city has seen more than$1.5Bin capital investment in the industrial and technology sector and the announcement of more than5,000Primary, and an estimated 10,000 induced jobs. Announcements include Beretta USA, Archer Datacenters, and Meta. Prior to this position, he was the Director of Economic Development for Cheatham County for six years where he led development initiatives that included working with the Chamber of Commerce to create an economic development strategy and raise $1 million from the private sector to augment government support. While there, he was the architect of the largest job retention effort in the State’s history, saving some 1,100 jobs at A.O. Smith following the weather event in 2010.An active member in the economic development arena, James is a Past-President for the Tennessee Economic Development Council. He currently on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Economic Partnership, a public-private program to organize marketing opportunities that attract new jobs to the state. Named Economic Development Professional of the Year for the State of Tennessee in 2021, he was included in the Nashville Business Journal’s 100 Top Power Brokers awards in that same year. James served 9 years on the LMT Board of Directors, Chaired the Sumner County United Way Campaign twice, is the President of the Gallatin Noon Rotary Club, and is Past Chair of the Friends of Scouting Luncheon. James is married to Maura Cunningham, Founder and CEO of Rock the Street Wall Street, a non-profit serving high-school women in 62 schools across the US, Canada and the UK. Maura is a member of the 2016 class of LMTMr. Fenton received his B.A. from Central Washington University and his Masters from Belmont University. He is an accomplished musician and artist who would rather be on his Harley.

Lyndi Berrones – Regional Director, TNECD

Lyndi Berrones returned to her home state of Tennessee in 2017 to work for the Department of Economic and Community Development. Berrones started as a statewide recruitment director and is now the department’s regional director for Greater Nashville. She spends her days creating jobs for Tennesseans by recruiting new companies to her thirteen-county region and helping existing companies expand. Berrones has directly assisted in the creation of more than 25,000 new jobs and $3billion in new capital investment for the State across various industry sectors from headquarters and I.T. to heavy manufacturing and distribution/logistics. Prior to joining TNECD, Berrones lived and worked in Santiago, Chile and then served as the economic development director for Miami-Dade County until 2016. She received the prestigious Excellence in Economic Development Award in 2019,TEDC’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2021, and was just recently awarded Nashville Business Journal’s Women of Influence in2022. Berrones holds a master’s degree in international business from the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business and an executive certificate from Harvard Business School. In her free time, she serves as the head cheerleading coach for the Hermitage Seahawks recreational league.

Jeff Hite – Senior Vice President of Economic Development

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce announced today that Jeff Hite, senior vice president of economic development, has been promoted to chief economic development officer. Courtney Ross is departing the Chamber in September to join Amazon as senior manager of external affairs and will be based in Nashville. Ross has been at the Chamber since 2008 and in her current role since 2014.“Jeff’s contributions to the prosperity of the Nashville region during his more than 20years at the Chamber are innumerable,” Schulz said. “His proven leadership will serve the region well as we focus on job creation and business recovery.” Hite has been the senior vice president of economic development since 2014 and has been with the Chamber since 1999. In his current role, he is responsible for promoting Nashville and the 10-county economic region as a prime location for business investment. His responsibilities include managing a team of project managers and providing support for CEO-level leadership of new and existing businesses interested in expanding and/or relocating into the Nashville region. “As a native Nashvillian, I’ve witnessed the region’s tremendous growth up close,” Hite said. “I’m excited to continue the Chamber’s Partnership 2030 work with our regional partners, investors and community leaders to position Nashville as one of the country’s premier locations for business recruitment and expansion. ”It has been an absolute honor to lead the Chamber’s economic development efforts over the past six years,” Ross said. “The strengths of this economic region are built on strong relationships and cooperation across county lines, and I’m looking forward to serving as a key partner with one of our top regional employers in my new role at Amazon.” Earlier in his career, Hite worked at the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp promoting Nashville in the tourism industry. He is a board member for the Tennessee Economic Partnership and NAIOP Nashville, and he has been named one of North America’s top50 economic developers. Hite resides in the Nashville region with his wife Amanda and two children.

Neil MacDonald – Regional Specialist of Tennessee Valley Authority

Neil Macdonald is a TVA regional development specialist in middle Tennessee. He works with local power companies, community leaders, and state and regional economic development partners to help attract and retain quality jobs and investments. MacDonald’s responsibilities include assisting prospective and existing industries, facilitating financial assistance, and helping communities support and grow local businesses. Prior to joining TVA, MacDonald worked as Director of Economic Development for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce where he assisted companies relocating or expanding into the ten-county Nashville region to assist with workforce, incentive and real estate needs. MacDonald’s economic development experience started while serving as Business Development Specialist and Legislative Liaison at Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for Governor Haslam’s administration. Neil is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, with a bachelor’s of science in Economics. He and his wife reside in Nashville and just welcomed their 9-month old son, Dean to the family.