Similarities exist, says Charlotte Regional Business Alliance CEO Robert McCutcheon, between leading large corporations and heading a 14-county economic development organization. It’s about bringing people together to work together.
McCutcheon gained his new role in March after 35 years as a senior executive at large corporations including ConAgra, Walmart and Gillette. Most recently, he was CEO of Swedish-owned power-tool maker Husqvarna’s North American unit.
“It’s never easy, but I feel like I can bring some experience and leverage because I sat on the other side of the table,” says McCutcheon. “I can speak the same language of my (Alliance) members and I can understand where they’re coming from.”
The Alliance’s recent years have been marked by friction and deficits, leading to former CEO Janet LaBar’s departure last year. It last posted a positive return in 2021, with deficits of $1.38 million in 2022 and $343,464 in 2023. The 2024 return wasn’t available at press time, but Alliance officials say the group will be in the black after cutting its staff.
Local business leaders are seeking a stronger focus from the 450-member organization, McCutcheon says. “We weren’t delivering hard enough on the core mission of economic development and regional growth.”
The Alliance was formed in 2018 through a merger of the former Charlotte Chamber and Charlotte Regional Partnership, which promoted economic growth in about a dozen area counties in North and South Carolina. Group leaders agreed to a national CEO search, prompting the departure of Bob Morgan, who had led the Chamber since 2005. LaBar was hired in 2019.
Adding Tracy Dodson as chief operating officer in February has already paid dividends in boosting the Alliance’s role in job-recruiting programs, McCutcheon says. For the past seven years, Dodson helped lead the city of Charlotte’s economic development efforts. She previously worked with the Lincoln Harris real estate firm.
“I’m not an economic developer, so we’re super complementary to one another’s skills,” McCutcheon says. “She’s got us really engaged in a lot of projects that are coming to market.”
Now, the Alliance is promoting a likely November referendum for a 1 cent sales tax increase Mecklenburg County that could pay for $20 billion of transportation improvements over the next 30 years. The Alliance hopes to raise $3 million to make the case that more mass transit and better roads will improve mobility in the increasingly congested region. County commissioners are expected to vote to put the matter on the ballot, after the Republican-led state legislature approved a referendum in the Democrat-dominated
urban county.
“It was something a lot of people probably thought we could never get done,” McCutcheon says. “It’s the biggest example of a challenge that we have, but we have a plan to do something about it. It’s something we can solve and provide us with more confidence that the growth will continue.”
It’s also a prime example of business and government leaders unifying behind an idea to boost an area that’s growing by 100-plus residents per day. The region’s population is expected to top 3 million by 2030, compared with 2.2 million in 2010, according to St. Louis Federal Reserve data.
McCutcheon has spent the first four months meeting with business leaders in six area counties to assess needs. For most development prospects, he notes, the Alliance passes on leads to local counties and then provides assistance as requested.
The region has a strong pipeline of potential expansions, he says, reflecting its status as a hot market. That includes many office projects, which would help reduce Charlotte’s unusually high center-city vacancy rate.
“There are companies that are still wanting to grow their business or that see an opportunity. Maybe they’re in a different area where the cost of living is too high, congestion is too high,” he says. North Carolina’s lower cost of living, talented workforce and business-friendly environment are factors why CNBC ranked the state as the best for business three of the past four years, he says.
The Alliance, McCutcheon says, is now on the right track to keep that progress
moving forward.
“I’m riding that wave of momentum, I believe. There’s just so much support. We’re just refocused on what really matters, and that’s a big part of a turnaround.” ■