One of Memphis’ biggest drivers of change is about head off to a new challenge. On Thursday, Greater Memphis Chamber CEO Beverly Robertson announced that she would be stepping down from her role in December 2022. That same day, the Chamber board of directors voted to name the organization’s chief economic development officer, Ted Townsend, as her successor.
Robertson, the Chamber’s first Black president and CEO, took over the reins in 2018 in unfortunate circumstances following the death of former president and CEO Phil Trenary. She then had to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic. But despite this two crises, in 2021, she led the Chamber to its best year ever for economic development and its best financial year.
“My tenure at the Chamber has occurred in the midst of protest, politics and the pandemic,” said Robertson in a statement. “I stepped into the organization at a critical time. This work was more of a mission than a job. But my administration has been marked by
inclusion – on our staff, in our community, and in the diverse voices we’re listening to – and by an entrepreneurial spirit that has led me to launch initiatives that others may have never considered. I am
so grateful for the relationships that I have built over the years, along with new ones that I have fostered. The work would not have been possible without their support.”
“We are very fortunate to have a deep bench when it comes to leadership at the Chamber,” Robertson continued. “Ted is a strong, skilled professional who deeply cares about Memphis and this team. He is an expert when it comes to economic development and he knows this community. I’m looking forward to his future leadership of the Chamber.”
Under her tenure, the organization followed the mantra of “prosperity for all,” and focused much of its efforts on leading inclusive and economic workforce development. For the remaining few months in her role, Robertson will aim to raise $10 to $15 million that will mostly go towards economic development work. Afterwards, she plans to return to TRUST Marketing, the business she founded with her husband Howard Robertson.
The Chamber recently revealed its Prosper Memphis 2030 plan, which seeks to add 50,000 regional jobs, and have Memphis leverage its status as one of the largest minority-majority cities in the country to attract businesses that place an emphasis on diversity in their workforces. Townsend was a key player in drafting that plan, and was also a huge part of securing Ford and SK Innovation’s $5.6 billion BlueOval City project near Memphis.
“Greater Memphis, the Chamber, and I all owe Beverly a debt of gratitude for the work she’s done to put inclusion and diversity at the heart of the Chamber’s work,” Townsend said. “In a majority-minority
city, the only sustainable growth is inclusive growth, which is why we included bold minority inclusion goals in our recently announced Prosper Memphis 2030 plan to add 50,000 new, quality jobs.
“Memphis has momentum and it’s about to get even better,” he continued. “We have fully recovered the jobs we lost in the pandemic, we just had our best year ever for economic development, and we have more projects in our pipeline than ever before. A tsunami of opportunity is coming, and when it does, the Chamber will be leading the charge to make sure this prosperity is felt across Memphis.”
“Beverly Robertson is an incredibly tough act to follow, but if there’s anyone who can carry forward her work to make Memphis more prosperous for all, it’s Ted Townsend.” added Doug Browne, chairman of the Chamber’s board and president of Peabody Hotels & Resorts. “Ted has both the passion and the economic development experience to make Memphis one of the fastest-growing and prosperous cities in the nation. The board is 100-percent behind his vision to make our region an economic powerhouse.”
“After Phil’s death, the Chamber needed a leader with both a strong vision for this community and a deep compassion for an organization that had just suffered a tremendous loss,” said Richard W. Smith,
president and CEO-elect of FedEx Express and past chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. “We needed a champion to carry on the growth-focused ‘prosperity for all’ mission that Phil had started, and to build and improve upon it. Beverly was that champion. A trailblazer who became the right leader at the right time, she leaves our Chamber better than she found it. And I know Ted is determined to build on that solid foundation and not stop until Memphis is the city of choice for business. We are very fortunate to have our Chamber under the watchful eye of these two leaders.”
