In this episode former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean talked with Commissioner Bob Rolfe.
He heads the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development at a critical time for Tennesseans and the business community.
The ECD is responsible for recruiting business and industry to the state, supporting existing companies, expanding economic opportunities across rural Tennessee and boosting the state’s overall economic prosperity.
Commissioner Rolfe has served as commissioner since March 2017.
Under his leadership, TNECD has increased Tennessee’s global footprint.
He has led the State’s efforts in the recruitment and expansion of over 100 international projects, which represent an investment of $5.6 billion and 18,000 job commitments.
TNECD has placed a major focus on job creation and community development in rural Tennessee. Since 2017, the department has provided more than $240 million in funding to rural communities throughout the state.
In addition, companies have invested $4 billion and committed to create 21,500 new jobs in rural communities over the past three years.
Commissioner Rolfe has more than three decades of experience in business and investment banking in Tennessee.
Before joining TNECD, he held the position of CEO of Medical Reimbursements of America, Inc., a company that provides specialty reimbursement solutions to improve financial performance for hospitals and health systems nationwide.
He co-founded West End Holdings in 2011, a Nashville-based private equity partnership and he spent the first 18 years of his career as an investment banker at J.C. Bradford and Co.
Rolfe received his E.M.B.A. from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and his B.S. from the University of Alabama’s School of Commerce and Business Administration.
