Rob Cleveland is the President and CEO of the Northeast Louisiana Economic Development Corporation (NELA EDC); the regional economic development authority representing 10 parishes in Northeast Louisiana. He is a Certified Economic Development Professional (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The NELA EDC is devoted to creating economic prosperity in the form of new and better job opportunities, expansion of the tax base and the creation of wealth for nearly 300,000 people in Northeast Louisiana.
Prior to joining NELA EDC, Cleveland was President & CEO of Cornerstone Alliance, the premier economic development organization in Southwest Michigan. In more than eight years under Cleveland’s leadership, Cornerstone Alliance implemented two strategic plans that helped Berrien County companies add more than 1,000 new jobs, while investing more than $210 million in Michigan’s Great Southwest. Cleveland led the Alliance to new partnerships with the Berrien County Land Bank, and Michigan Works!, to redevelop Industrial Brownfield and residential sites. Cleveland was the architect of talent attraction initiatives like Move to Michigan, which garnered national recognition for receiving over 2,000 applications for those seeking to relocate to Berrien County. Cleveland also proposed the Homegrown Undergrad and Graduate Education (HUGE) incentive that would phase-in income tax for recent graduates of Michigan colleges and universities.
Previously, Cleveland was the Director of Economic Development and Community Affairs at Indiana Michigan Power (AEP), where he led the company’s business attraction, retention and expansion activities. Cleveland was responsible for I&M’s efforts to certify sites with Food Processing and Data Center designations – the only such certified sites in the State of Indiana. He was also a member of I&M’s Corporate Communications team.
Prior to joining I&M, Cleveland was the Executive Director of the Blackford County EDC. While in Blackford County, Cleveland assisted more than a dozen companies in new investment of more than $53 million – representing more than 10% of the entire net Assessed Value of Blackford County – and the creation of 175 new jobs. In 2011, Cleveland led all efforts to recruit Naturally Recycled Proteins (NRP) in locating in Montpelier. NRP had an initial investment of $14 million and 68 new jobs – the largest new-job announcement in Blackford County in 18 years.
Prior to joining the BCEDC, Cleveland served as a Public Relations Specialist with Andretti Green Racing, where he worked with Indianapolis 500 winners Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti. Cleveland began his professional career as a Video Coordinator and Scout with the Indiana Pacers (NBA) and Indiana Fever (WNBA). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sport Administration from Ball State University. Cleveland and his wife, Susan, reside in Monroe, Louisiana, with their youngest son, Isaac.