North Star Builds Its Economic Development Expertise with Hire of New Director of Research Services
Nashville, TN (PRWEB) October 23, 2013 -- Community branding leader North Star Destination Strategies further increases its economic development strength with the addition of Rupa DeLoach as the company’s new Director of Research Services.
In her previous role as the for the state of Tennessee's Department of Economic & Community Development, Rupa was responsible for all research activities pertaining to Tennessee's business recruitment and retention strategy, data related to rural economic development efforts, statistical evaluation of job and investment growth in the state, and other aspects of the labor market landscape.
"We have seen a recent surge in economic development-based community branding projects, explains Don McEachern, CEO of North Star. “Given the special expertise those projects involve, we want to be sure North Star is bringing the best to the table. Rupa's knowledge and passion for research – particularly economic driven research -- will only increase the strength of our process here. We couldn't be happier to have her on our team."
Rupa is the latest in a series of hires designed to add more economic development muscle to the North Star branding team. Earlier in the year, North Star hired Lori Odom, veteran economic development professional with expertise in domestic and international business.
In her new role with North Star, Rupa's responsibilities will include refining and perfecting existing research products within the BrandPrint process as well as stand-alone projects outside the traditional research sphere, including returns on investment and conversion studies. Rupa will also be responsible for designing and launching new products aimed at making client communities more competitive, both in the pursuit of economic development and tourism.
Rupa serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern Automotive Women’s Forum as the Vice President of Research and Development, as well as on the organization’s executive leadership team, a position she has held since 2009. She is also on the Advisory Board for MTSU’s Women in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, and has served on the Board of Examiners for the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence since 2008.
Rupa is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she received her graduate degree in Economics after earning a Bachelors in Public Management from Florida Atlantic University. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two children.
Nashville-based North Star Destination Strategies is a full-service place branding and research agency. Having partnered with more than 170 communities in 40 states nationwide, North Star is considered an industry leader in the field of community and destination research and branding. North Star specializes in regional economic development branding, destination branding, city branding, and community-wide branding.
Anthony Domine, North Star Destination Strategies, http://www.northstarideas.com/index.php, 615-232-2103 x 34, [email protected]
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