Robert Eugene Cleveland III

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Robert Eugene Cleveland III (
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Born (1977-01-24) January 24, 1977 (age 49)
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materBall State University
OccupationEconomic developer
OrganizationGrow NELA

Robert Eugene Cleveland III (born January 24, 1977) is an American economic developer and public relations professional based in Monroe, Louisiana, who is currently President & CEO of Grow NELA, the 10-parish regional economic development organization for the Northeast Louisiana region, including the Monroe MSA. Cleveland has worked in traditionally underserved areas, including leading Cornerstone Alliance, a regional economic development organization in Benton Harbor, Michigan, as well as the Blackford County Economic Development Corporation in Indiana. He is a relative of President Stephen Grover Cleveland and General Moses Cleaveland.

Early life and education

Cleveland grew up in Leesburg, Indiana.[1] He went to Ball State University where he graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sport Administration.[1] He served as a graduate assistant for the Ball State football team during the 1999 season.[2]

Career

Cleveland went to work for the Women's National Basketball Association's expansion Indiana Fever, coached by Hall of Fame member Anne Donovan.[1] Cleveland served as the team's video coordinator and assisted in advanced scouting duties, serving under Donovan, Nell Fortner and Brian Winters.[1] Cleveland was the assistant video coordinator for the NBA's Indiana Pacers from 2000 to 2004 that included the team's NBA Finals run in the 1999-2000 season.[1] Cleveland was involved in Metta Sandiford-Artest receiving NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2004.[3][4]

In 2004, Cleveland joined Andretti Global (then Andretti Green Racing) in the IndyCar Series as a Public Relations Specialist.[5] Cleveland was the primary contact for two-time Indianapolis 500 Winner Dan Wheldon,[6] three-time Indianapolis 500 Winner Dario Franchitti, 2013 Indianapolis 500 Winner Tony Kanaan, 2011 Indianapolis 500 winning owner Bryan Herta, as well as Marco Andretti, and Michael Andretti.[7][8][9] Cleveland's drivers won 14 IndyCar Series races during his tenure.[8][10][9]

Cleveland began a career in economic development in 2008 when he was named the Executive Director of the Blackford County Economic Development Corporation.[11] Cleveland led the attraction of Naturally Recycled Proteins to Montpelier, the largest new business attraction project in the county in twenty years.[12]

He served as the Director of Business Development and Community Affairs at Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP company.[13] Cleveland focused on site readiness throughout the Indiana Michigan Power service territory, which led to the certification of Indiana’s only McCallum Sweeney Certified Site,[14][15] and the state’s only Austin Consulting Food Processing Certified Sites.[16][17]

At Cornerstone Alliance, Cleveland created the Michigan HUGE incentive,[18] Vacay Everyday,[19] and Move to Michigan program, to bring new residents to the state.[20][21] He oversaw new job and investment projects with JR Automation,[22] Whirlpool Corporation,[23] and Benton Harbor Flats.[24][25] Those projects resulted in the largest increase in per capita income in the State of Michigan in 2023.[26] Cleveland played a critical role in supporting several pieces of economic development legislation, including the passage of Michigan Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR),[27] and he was the leading voice for the passage of data center sales tax legislation, which included testimony at the Michigan State House.[28][29]

Cleveland was named the President & CEO of Grow NELA, a regional economic development organization serving Northeast Louisiana, in June 2024.[30] On December 4, 2024, Grow NELA announced the recruitment of a Meta AI data center in Richland Parish; the largest new investment in the history of the State of Louisiana at the time.[31][32][33]

Recognition

Cleveland is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council[34] was recognized as a Top 50 Economic Developers in North America in 2017,[35] serving as member of the IEDC Disaster Recovery team,[36] serving as a repeat speaker at the IEDC annual conference,[37] and authoring economic development policy articles.[38] He was chosen as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the East Central Indiana Economic Development Corporation in 2015.[39] He was a regular contributor on PBS Michiana’s Economic Outlook.[40][41][42] Cleveland was recognized on the April 13, 2004, episode of the Fox Sports' Best Damn Sports Show Period for his work to provide metrics used to highlight Ron Artest’s campaign to be NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2004.[43]

Elected office

Cleveland was elected to the Blackford County Council (District 2) in November 2014.[44]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Mayer, Cleveland to wed". Nappanee Advance-News. Vol. 125, no. 23. Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana. June 5, 2002. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  2. ↑ Template:Cite report
  3. ↑ "Brown Criticizes Carlisle". Indianapolis Star. 2004. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Carlisle Positions O'Neal for 1st Team". Indianapolis Star. 2004. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Wheldon Scores Solid Practice in Klein Tools/Jim Beam Machine". The Auto Channel (Press release). Andretti Green Racing. August 27, 2004. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Wheldon wins 89th Indy 500". Autosport. May 29, 2005. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Young Driver Finds Mentor in Kanaan". Indianapolis Star. 2005. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Oreovicz, John (April 9, 2009). "Winning formula for Andretti Green Racing?". ESPN. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cleveland, Rob. "Once Inside the Oval". National Road Magazine. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Andretti Green Racing Team Profile" (PDF). All Car Central. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Auto-parts manufacturer begins operations in vacant Hartford City plant". Indiana Economic Digest. May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Naturally Recycled Proteins Attraction". AgTalk. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  13. ↑ "How to Create Economic Growth – I&E Seminar". Andrews University. Retrieved August 15, 2025. Previously, Cleveland was the director of Economic Development and Community Affairs at Indiana Michigan Power (AEP), where he led the company's business attraction, retention and expansion activities.
  14. ↑ "Muncie-Delaware County Earns Shovel-Ready Industrial Site Certification". Muncie Journal. July 7, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Shovel Ready Sites Certified and Ready to Go". Business Facilities. 20 August 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Properties Gain Shovel Ready Distinction". Inside Indiana Business. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Austin Consulting Food Processing Certified Site" (PDF). Austin Consulting. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Rob Cleveland: Give Michigan college graduates a HUGE tax incentive". Crain's Detroit Business. March 3, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Move the needle: Cornerstone Alliance launches initiative to reverse population declines". Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. September 16, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Get $15,000 to move to Michigan and work remotely". Crain's Chicago Business. October 26, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  21. ↑ "States Lure Digital Nomads With Cash and Tax Incentives". Bloomberg Law. May 28, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  22. ↑ "JR Automation to invest nearly $2M in Stevensville operation". Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. 15 March 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Whirlpool hopes to attract, retain talent with workforce housing project". Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. August 3, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Benton Harbor apartments unveiled that restore long-vacant building". ABC57. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Construction restarted on Benton Harbor Flats after delay". WSBT. 22 October 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Berrien County's average income saw greatest rate increase in state". Herald Palladium. January 25, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Governor Whitmer Signs Legislation Enabling Michigan to Attract Billions in Investment, Create Tens of Thousands of Jobs". Michigan.gov. December 20, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  28. ↑ "Cornerstone President testifies in favor of data center tax bills". WSJM. March 7, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Cornerstone Alliance: Data center legislation good news for Michigan". WSJM. November 12, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Incoming president and CEO of NELEA takes on new role July 15". KNOE. June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Meta Selects Northeast Louisiana as Site of $10 Billion Artificial Intelligence Optimized Data Center". Opportunity Louisiana. December 4, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Meta to build artificial intelligence data center in Louisiana". AP News. December 4, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  33. ↑ "The inside story of how Louisiana landed the $10B Meta AI data center". Baton Rouge Business Report. 16 April 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Future Ready – Preparing for Tomorrow's Economy: Executive Summary" (PDF). International Economic Development Council. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  35. ↑ "North America's Top 50 Economic Developers". Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC). 23 January 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  36. ↑ "IEDC Disaster Recovery Team". International Economic Development Council. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  37. ↑ "Cleveland to speak at IEDC conference". The Times (Munster, Indiana). September 25, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  38. ↑ Cleveland, Robert (Winter 2024). "A Workforce Housing Shortage". IEDC ED Journal. 23 (1).
  39. ↑ "Energize ECI Announces Officers". Inside Indiana Business. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  40. ↑ "Economic Development in the Region (Season 13)". PBS Michiana. November 5, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  41. ↑ "Economic Growth in Michigan (Season 14)". PBS Michiana. December 18, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  42. ↑ "Re-opening of the Michigan Economy (Season 15)". PBS Michiana. May 26, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Best Damn Sports Show Period". TV Guide. 2004. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  44. ↑ "Blackford County Vote Totals". Star Press. November 4, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2025.

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