David A. Stedman

David A. Stedman, Sr.. (David Anthony Ludke Joseph Stedman, Sr.; Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller) is an accomplished economic developer and business development executive, as well as an advertising, marketing and public relations maven practicing in Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia. Contents [hide] 1 Economic Development2 Marketing, Advertising and Branding3 Technology Incubation3 Commercial Real Estate/ Site Selection3 Early life4 Personal 5 References [edit]

Economic Development

David Stedman is past Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County1 [http://www.eda-bc.com/index.asp] , Texas, and Board member of the Pearland Economic Development Corporation2, [ http://www.pearlandedc.com/about_pedc/index.asp ] . Prior to working in economic development, Stedman served as Chief Operating Officer of the Excelerater3, an incubator for emerging technology companies, and as Executive Vice President of Hood Marketing Solutions4 [http://www.hoodsolutions.com/index.htm] , an Atlanta based, full service advertising and marketing firm. Stedman was also Vice Chair and CEO of The Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport Development Corporation5 [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/4049647.html] , which sought to establish a suborbital commercial spaceport, hoping to eventually be able to launch both polar and equatorial orbital missions from a strategic location on the Gulf of Mexico. He has been an active Board Member and advocate for numerous professional and civic organizations including TexasOne6 [http://www.texasone.us/site/PageServer?pagename=list] , Opportunity Houston7 ] , the strategic planning and branding task forces of the Greater Houston Partnership8 [http://www.houston.org/pdfs/StrategicPlan.pdf] , the Texas Economic Development Council, the Technology Association of Georgia, the Greater Houston Partnership, BioHouston, the Texas Health and BioScience Institute, The Houston Image Group9 and the Greater Houston Energy Collaborative10 . Civic activities include work to promote the Houston Ballet, World Trade Week, the Houston International Business Expo, Memphis In May and Brazoria County Day. His charitable work includes efforts on behalf of the Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Charities, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the American Red Cross. When Stedman stepped into the job as President and CEO of The Alliance, Brazoria County was losing jobs, with major layoffs announced by Dow Chemical11 and BASF. Stedman championed tax abatement and other incentives12 for job retention and aggressive efforts to attract corporate relocations and promote new business, particularly in the areas of medical, biotech, nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing. Significant focus was given to promoting Port Freeport and international business.

The results were an unprecedented succession of quarterly expansions as measured by the Brazoria County Index of Economic Indicators13. He was successful in [securing grants from both the Texas Enterprise Fund14 and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund15. http://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/issues/ID-201-article.aspx] . Stedman also spearheaded a multimedia campaign that passed a $50 million mobility bond election small>16 [http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2004_3815770] in Brazoria County by a 67.7% margin over organized opposition [http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2004_3814124] . He then leveraged that into $400 million worth of road construction projects [http://www.gulfcoastinstitute.org/news/news041904.html] by partnering with the cities and with the Texas Department of Transportation. He sought out Donald Payne and Brazosport College to create the first Index of Economic Indicators for the County. He secured over $7.4 million in major grants for economic development projects including the Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport, nano technology initiatives [http://www.sos.texas.gov/about/newsreleases/2006/100306.shtml] , workforce grants for Dish Network and the dredging of Chocolate Bayou [http://www.gregg-gregg.com/new-05.htm] [http://www.gregg-gregg.com/new-06.htm] and the mouth of the San Bernard River [http://www.sanbernardriver.com/2006/20060623.htm] , which was essential to both industry and the environment.

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Marketing, Advertising and Branding

David Stedman started as an account executive with Daigle, Koye, Jodinskas & Whitaker, which serviced an number of top Riviana Brands like Success Rice and Comet Rice and Coca-Cola Foods' brands like Towie Olive and Butternut Coffee. Another specialty was restaurant and hospitality accounts like Church's and Jim Dandy fried chicken, Whataburger, Host Hotels, The Warwick Hotel and The Warwick Post Oak (now the Hilton). The medical and emerging biotechnology sector became another area of expertise as he worked on accounts such as Healthcare Enterprises, Inc (HEI), Methodist and Texas Women's hospitals, Pearce Clinical Laboratories, Amtec Diagnostics, Physical Therapy and Associates. After leaving Daigle, Stedman became Vice President of Marketing for Gemcraft Homes, bringing with him Victor Jodinskas, the Creative Director he worked with at Daigle. Together they rebranded Gemcraft and created the "Setting the New Standard" campaign, which included television, radio, newspaper and outdoor advertising as well as public relations. The campaign propelled Gemcraft to an 8% rise in market share valued at $72 million. Gemcraft rose from 12th to the 3rd largest builder in the market, closing 1,600 homes in one year. He also worked on The Woodlands, Houston's premier master planned community, which was branded as "a new hometown". He was subsequently hired to become Vice President, Asset Marketing Manager for Leader Federal, the largest savings and loan in middle Tennessee. Leader became the dominant home lender in the State, introduced home equity and credit card products and began competing heads up with the merchant banks. As a result, Leader Federal generated a 17.8% return on beginning equity, the largest return in the history of the institution. He subsequently represented Colony Homes in Atlanta. Stedman joined forces with Wayne and Lynne Hood at Hood Marketing Solutions (HMS) where he became Executive Vice President in charge of new business development and account service. HMS serviced a number of high profile accounts, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Optio Software, Global Payments, Nokia, AT&T and NDC Health. To these were added CryoLife, and the Buffalo's Cafe chain of restaurants [http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/4190505-1.html] . The work with Buffalo's made headlines by linking agency compensation to sales growth [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_12_34/ai_61202700] .

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Early life

David Anthony Stedman was born in Houston, Harris County, Texas to Jessie Milton (Jack) and Faith Prevost Stedman. Jack Stedman was a Texas Ranger, who retired to become a Special Officer in charge of security for the Houston Belt & Terminal Railroad. Faith Prevost Stedman was an ACSW certified social worker who worked to uplift the poor in Houston's Fourth and Fifth Wards, eventually rising to Director of Continuing Education for the Texas State Department of Human Welfare, which is now known as the Department of Human Services. As a boy, Stedman recalls the spirited discussions at the dinner table where he said, "Justice and compassion met for supper every evening at our house. Mom and Dad were both intelligent and witty people and so my brother and I used to watch them trading quips and zingers in rapid fire. But no matter how spirited the discussion, there was never the slightest doubt that they were together for life. No one ever went to bed angry in our house." Stedman's half brother, Ormond Wendel Prevost, was fifteen years older than David, who saw him as a young father figure. And his maternal grandmother, Vera Ora Ludke Boyd, also lived with them. So as Stedman says, "It was as though I had two fathers and two mothers. I had a lot of guidance and a lot of love from all sides."

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Personal

A third generation Texan, David Stedman, Sr. was born in Houston but spent fifteen years in Atlanta before moving back to Texas in 2003. He was an honors graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where he was a member of a championship debate team. He also completed the economic development course and is a Certified e-Business Strategist from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). David Stedman is married to Maria Osborn Stedman and they have a blended family with four children. His son, David A. Stedman, II is currently a student at the University of Georgia. His stepson, David Osborn, is a teacher and his two stepdaughters are happily married and pursuing careers.

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References

1 "We spread the wealth of business opportunity throughout Brazoria County," said David A. Stedman, President and Chief Executive Officer in a section entitled, 'Who's Who in Brazoria County', published article on The Alliance published in "The Facts" on May 14, 2006. [http://www.thefacts.com/downloads/who_06.pdf]

2 David A. Stedman is listed as a member of the Board of Directors for the Pearland Economic Development Corporation on their website [http://www.pearlandedc.com/about_pedc/board_of_directors.asp] .

3 The Excelerater was founded in 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia, by Wayne Hood and David Stedman as an incubator for emerging technology companies. [http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/extra/incubators.html]

4 David Stedman served as Executive Vice President and head of new business development and account service for Hood Marketing Solutions [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_12_34/ai_61202700] .

5 The mission of the Gulf Coast Regional Spaceport Development Corporation and Stedman's role are discussed in a July 16, 2006 article in "The Houston Chronicle" [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/space/4049647.html] .

6 Stedman's role in TexasOne is acknowledged and he is quoted as saying, "TexasOnesm generates the highest return on my marketing investment by putting me face-to-face with real domestic and international prospects in a way that mere advertising could never deliver" in an online promotional brochure posted on the TexasOne website [http://www.texasone.us/site/DocServer/TexasOne_Packet_-_08.24.06.pdf?docID=321] .

7 Opportunity Houston is a $40 million economic development campaign. The program and Stedman's role are discussed in an article entitled, "Going to Bat for Growth: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT" that was posted on Friday, 27 October 2006. Bill Hensel Jr. of the "Houston Chronicle" writes, "(Greater Houston) Partnership Chairman Chip Carlisle, president of Wells Fargo Bank, noted that the campaign is unusual because the 10 counties in the Gulf Coast region have never worked together on such an effort.’Because of the global economy, it makes more sense for counties to band together,' said David Stedman, president and chief executive of the Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County.’In order to compete, we need to come together regionally,' Stedman said. 'If they come within the region, we all are going to benefit.' The full article can be viewed online [http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/709339/going_to_bat_for_growth_economic_development/index.html] .

8 A copy of the Greater Houston Partnership's 2005-2015 Strategic Plan is posted online including a list of all stakeholders in the planning process [http://www.houston.org/pdfs/StrategicPlan.pdf] .

9 The Houston Image Group worked hand in hand with the communications department of the Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau to market the Greater Houston area [http://www.visithoustontexas.com/about/contact] .

10 The Leadership, Policy Analysis and Development Committee listed Stedman as a member on page 11 of its online report of the Greater Houston Energy Collaborative [http://www.wrksolutions.com/employer/energy/ecwc/GHEC's%20GHP%20Board%20of%20Directors%20Presentation_October%20%204%202006_Updated.ppt#378,9] .

11 The layoffs announced by Dow Chemical [http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?wcd=14271] spurred Stedman to champion a tax abatement for job retention in Brazoria County. As a result, two major plant expansions were begun by BASF and one by Dow within a year and a half of the layoffs. Shintech now has a major plant addition that will add as many as 1,000 additional jobs to the County.

12 In Brazoria County, located in proximity to the Houston metro, the chemical industry is the dominant industry. The county is home to Dow, BASF, Shintech, Inc., BP and other firms. The county is also well suited to support electronics firms and is developing a major initiative to attract biotech and nanotech firms. Stedman championed innovative incentives and promoted Brazoria County at the State, regional and national level, and positioned the County in new industry growth clusters. In this article [http://www.bxjonline.com/bxj/article.asp?magarticle_id=814] , he is quoted as saying, "What you find is info tech, biotech and nanotech are separate areas of focus but there are converging disciplines,” says David Stedman, president and CEO, Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County. He says the community has the shortest commute time of any of Houston's suburban counties to Rice University, which is a leading university in the field of nanotech. The county also provides direct access, via Highway 288 to the University of Houston. The county also has the shortest commute time to the Texas Medical Center, which is the world's largest medical complex. What's more, the county is also in proximity to the University of Texas' medical branch in Galveston, which has a major research facility."

13 The Brazoria County Index of Economic Indicators [http://www.eda-bc.com/images/pdfs/EFC_Oct07Web.pdf] includes "leading" index components (Employment claims, single family building permits and an index of Brazoria County stocks), current indicators (seasonally adjusted household employment and hotel/motel tax receipts, sales tax receipts and consumer confidence) and lagging indicators (duration of unemployment, prime rate and seasonally adjusted unemployment.

14The TEXAS Enterprise Fund grant was reported in the November/December 2006 issue of Trade & Industry development http://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/issues/ID-201-article.aspx

15The $975,000 grant was made to Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc. (CNI) and announced by Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams http://www.sos.texas.gov/about/newsreleases/2006/100306.shtml ] .

16 The $50 million mobility bond election [http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2004_3815770] passed by a 67.7% margin over organized opposition and was reported in the Houston Chronicle [http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2004_3814124] . The leveraging of funds into $400 million worth of road construction projects was reported in the April, 2004 edition of the Gulf Coast Institute News [http://www.gulfcoastinstitute.org/news/news041904.html] .