Rodney Crim believes in the power of coming together. “The most successful cities are benefitting from great collaboration, effective partnerships, operating effectively as one region, analyzing data, and implementing potential solutions that benefit a diverse population,” he says. One recent example: The partnership is working with area businesses to prevent illegal dumping in Kinloch and to redevelop the area for residents.
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
What has been your or your company’s most significant success over the last 12 months? Our work on business, retention, and expansion is to keep the businesses that we have and help them grow and effectively play our role on the attraction team with Greater St. Louis, Inc. and our state and regional partners. This is resulting in some new industries like Gateway Studios that we were able to assist that will grow our entertainment production industry and put St. Louis on the map as mega and rising stars look for cities to pull together all of the components that are necessary for stadium and various size shows across the world. This includes similar sized rehearsal facilities, the ability to fully test the equipment, and practice performances that are necessary to produce touring entertainment shows. The facilities will be completed soon.
What has you most excited about the future of your company or industry? I am proud of our collaborative work in bringing attention to areas like Kinloch, the first African American chartered city in Missouri. The STL Partnership is working with St. Louis Airport, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, the legal offices of St. Louis City and County, St. Louis County Police, and consultants to terminate illegal dumping in this area and develop and effective plan to redevelop the area with respect to historical legacy of the area, produce job producing industrial businesses and improve the residential and community services components of the City. We are working on similar initiatives in the primarily African-American City of Wellston.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? In the economic development business, the most successful cities are benefiting from great collaboration, effective partnerships, operating effectively as one region, analyzing data and going after and implementing potential solutions that benefit a diverse population. We do that, but we need to do it much more and faster to make our region one of the best places to live, to grow businesses, and to maintain our existing population and attract more people from other areas of the United States and attract new Americans from around the world. We need to be more welcoming. Our Mosaic Project and work with the International Institute and companies is moving this in the right direction.
What’s the toughest business challenge you’ve had to overcome (excluding the pandemic) and why? Our objective as the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership is to use our skills and tools and collaborative partnership approach to work with other organizations on common objectives and realize desired successes. We continue to look for those opportunities for the City and County and the region to work together. When we do, we win. Others will continue to build on the work we have done.
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MENTORS & PEERS
To whom or where do you go for sound business advice? I have appreciated serving on various nonprofit boards and commissions locally and internationally and working in the business sector and nonprofit sector in multiple states. I have also appreciated having friends and acquaintances across the world. I also appreciate learning more about St. Louis through St. Louis people who were born and raised here. Therefore, I have people I consult with all over. This includes people on the boards of Cortex, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Greater St. Louis, Inc. and the United Way.
Do you have a business mentor? If so, who and why? The St. Louis folks have helped me understand the relationships and history of St. Louis. My boards and commissions help me understand best practices across the world. My friends that I’ve worked with help me understand the core of where I’ve been and how to apply those learnings and experiences to where I am now and in the future.
What piece of advice has had the most significant impact on your career? A few examples of advice that I have received over the years that has helped me in my career are the following: Treat everyone with respect. It’s always better to show up than to not show up at all. Do what you can with what you have. Use what you have and try to get more to address whatever the need is. You can’t win if you don’t play.
BACKGROUND
Where were you born? I was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side.
What was your childhood aspiration? My parents were hard-working-class folks. I was blessed to go to a good public school in our neighborhood and across town to a good public high school. I wanted to go to college but didn’t know how that would financially happen. It did with a combination of loans, some scholarship dollars and my part-time restaurant job. It was great to have a restaurant job in college to help reduce my food bill.
What was your first job, and what did you learn from it? My early jobs in restaurants led me to think about going into the restaurant business. However, that changed when I started taking accounting classes and switched from the restaurants to a part-time accounting job at Pillsbury. That later led to a full-time auditor job at Pillsbury and subsequent financial management jobs at what is now Ameriprise and Chief Financial Officer at Microtron, an auto manufacturing tier one supplier.
What educational degrees do you hold, and where were they earned? University of Minnesota-BS in Accounting University of St. Thomas, in Minnesota, MBA including a concentration in entrepreneurship Certified Public Accountant (CPA)-Not active in public accounting Certified Economic Development Professional (CEcD) Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) I also had the pleasure of attending the Harvard University Kennedy School Executives in State and Local Government program.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
What is your favorite St. Louis-area restaurant, and what do you typically order there? Some of my favorite restaurants are Diner’s Delight, La Crazy Margarita, Sqwires, and City Foundry. Red beans and rice and jerk chicken are some of my favorite meals to order.
What is one item you recently crossed off your bucket list? I have enjoyed family trips in and out of the country and have crossed them off of my bucket list. One of the items still on my list is a desire is to learn to speak Spanish fluently.
What is one book you think everyone should read (or podcast everyone should listen to) and why? I enjoy selecting books that the St. Louis County and City library have. They have a good variety and offer eBook options. Recent books that I’ve read include LeBron by Jeff Benedict. LeBron James built a team around him and connected his team members to professionals to learn the business, so that they could do it themselves and grow their own businesses, which they have successfully done. I also recently read The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee. This book shows that we all suffer because of racism that has produced most of the inequities that we experience today.
What’s your hobby/passion? I have always enjoyed cycling. Trailnet is a great asset to the St. Louis region. They organize bike rides, bringing hundreds of people together to have fun, ride safely, and develop friendships. They also produce projects to create safe streets throughout our region. My wife and I also ride a tandem road bike—yes, that’s a road bike built for two. People said that we would either love it or hate it. We love it. I also enjoy sailing. I learned to sail sailboats many years ago in Minnesota, “The Land of 10,000 Lakes,” and have been sailing ever since. Locally, Lake Carlyle in Illinois is a great place to sail. I was a racquetball player in the past and am now getting into pickleball.
What would people be surprised to learn about you—a fun fact? This year, I have been enjoying trying new things including riding in a helicopter and in a Waymo driverless vehicle, which is like Uber without a driver.
What is your go-to karaoke song? “Purple Rain” by Prince is my go-to karaoke song. It’s part of my Minnesota experience.
