Barry G Broome

As the first president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Barry Broome leads efforts to attract, grow and scale new businesses, develop advanced industries and guide new job-creation strat- egies throughout a six-county region. He established the first public/private partner- ship economic development organization led by CEOs in California. Before coming to Sacramento, he was president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (CPEC), overseeing the delivery of more than 50,000 jobs and 250 company locales in the region. Broome is at the helm of one of the longest-standing regional public-private partnerships for economic development. He is a proven leader with nearly 25 years of experience in community building and economic development, new company creation, formation of public-private partnerships and public policy design. Broome’s tenure at GPEC has led to the attraction of 225 companies, creating 40,500 jobs and more than $8 billion in capital investment to Greater Phoenix. Broome recently worked to secure Apple in Mesa, a game-changing project that will create 700 jobs and more than $1 billion in capital investment. He’s also worked to attract investment from many of the region’s notable companies such as Intel, GoDaddy, Yelp, PayPal, Amazon and scores of others. Prior to GPEC, Broome was shaping Kalamazoo, Michigan’s economy through a university, life science and venture capital strategy. Broome founded Southwest Michigan First from a small metal desk at the regional Chamber of Commerce, with a $150,000 operating budget and a $1.7 million shortfall. Four years later, Broome had raised $55 million, the organization was recognized as a Top 20 economic development agency in the country by Site Selection magazine and it appeared in Inc magazine’s Fast 50. Also honored as Michigan’s Economic Developer of the Year, Broome built the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, launching 14 life science start-ups and 23 new ventures.