Eric Miller is the Greater Memphis Chamber’s new senior vice president of Economic Development.
“Eric brings a disciplined, data-driven approach that will help us play smarter offense when it comes to business recruitment,” said Richard Smith, president and CEO of FedEx Trade Networks and chairman of the board for the Greater Memphis Chamber. “He has extensive experience successfully targeting the types of companies and industries that make sense based upon a community’s unique civic assets.”
In addition, the Chamber has commissioned two studies to help shape an economic development roadmap to address stagnant job growth in the region.
“We’ve taken a serious look at our competitiveness as a region and it is clear that we need a far more aggressive recruitment and attraction strategy,” said Phil Trenary, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber.
A competitive mindset was a priority in the national search for a candidate for this position, Trenary said.
“I’m a competitive person, but I don’t like to just compete. I like to win. Memphis is poised to win,” said Miller. “What I see in Memphis is a strong commitment from both the business community and the public sector to create a competitive business climate.”
Miller joins the Greater Memphis Chamber from Norfork, Va., where he served as executive vice president of Business Development for Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, one of 46 accredited economic development organizations in the nation. In addition to his work in South Carolina and Virginia, he served as Director of Industrial Development for the Muskogee City-County Port Authority, in Muskogee, Okla.
Miller earned both his Bachelor of Science and his Juris Doctorate degrees from The University of South Carolina and The University Of South Carolina-School of Law, respectively. He is also a graduate the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Basic Economic Development School, The University of Oklahoma-Economic Development Institute and a Charter Graduate of the South Carolina Advanced Economic Development Symposium.
