Craig Rhodes, Sr. Vice President of Economic Development for the Greater Houston Partnership

HOUSTON (May 1, 2024) – The Greater Houston Partnership has promoted Craig Rhodes, an 18-year economic development veteran, as its new Senior Vice President, Economic Development. Rhodes has been with the Partnership for 12 years, most recently as Vice President, Regional Economic Development. 

In this new role, Rhodes will lead domestic and international economic development and trade efforts for the Partnership, reporting directly to President and CEO Steve Kean. 

Since 2020, Rhodes has led the Partnership’s regional economic development team, resulting in 69 regional expansion and relocation projects creating more than 13,000 and retaining more than 6,000 jobs with capital expenditures of $4.3B.

“In my time at the Partnership I have been impressed with our domestic and international economic development work and especially with Craig’s leadership, strategic thinking, and execution,” said Steve Kean, President and CEO of the Partnership. “I’m confident he will lead our economic development efforts at the Partnership well and continue the great work with our regional economic development partners through the Houston Region Economic Development Alliance (HREDA).  The HREDA effort in particular, is a hallmark of Craig’s collaborative style and is a great demonstration of the “power of together” that we display every day in the Greater Houston area.”

Rhodes was part of the Partnership’s economic development team from 2006-2014. From 2014-2020, he worked on the economic development team at CenterPoint Energy, supporting new growth across the greater Houston region. Rhodes returned to the Partnership in 2020.

He served as Chair of the Houston Regional Economic Development Alliance (HREDA) from 2017-2022 and expanded the scope of HREDA for the betterment of the 12-county Houston region. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Economic Development Council and the Utility Economic Development Association. He is an active member of the International Economic Development Council and has held numerous Board and leadership roles in economic development across the Houston area. 

Rhodes received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin in 2001 and earned his Certified Economic Development, CEcD, certification from the International Economic Development Council in 2015. He and his wife Kristi have three children.