Rob Simpson serves as president & CEO of the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse & Central New York (MDA).  The MDA is a private, not-for-profit business leadership and economic development organization, made up of the chief executives of approximately 200 companies. 

Since joining the MDA in 2003, Mr. Simpson has led the organization’s efforts to guide and accelerate the transformation of the Central Upstate economy from a primary reliance on its traditional manufacturing base to a globally competitive knowledge-based economy.  Mr. Simpson’s principal responsibility has included the strategic planning and implementation of the Essential New York Initiative - a comprehensive twelve-county regional development strategy with programs focused on technology commercialization, workforce development, entrepreneurship and innovation, access to capital, sector-based attraction and retention, and regional marketing. 

Programs arising from the Essential New York Initiative include:  a regional branding and marketing effort, New York’s Creative Core, which has attracted nearly 200 partner institutions; an annual $100,000 Emerging Business Competition, which has drawn regional and national attention to new companies in the Central Upstate region; Grants for Growth, which has awarded more than $3.2 million to 23 university-industry research and commercialization partnerships; Project ION, an internship program that has matched nearly 2000 college students with paid internships in the region; and EssentialNYJobs.com, a unique job search engine which provides one-stop shopping for Central Upstate employers and job seekers.

To promote effective regional economic development and regional cooperation, Mr. Simpson has been a strong advocate of partnerships and coalition building, most notably through the creation of the Central Upstate Regional alliance, with members representing business, academia, and economic development organizations from each of the twelve Central Upstate counties.

Recently, Mr. Simpson led the Metropolitan Development Foundation’s successful effort to secure three grants from the Ford Foundation, a first for the Central Upstate region.  These grants stem from work started under the Essential New York Initiative and further the effort to promote sustainable and equitable economic and community development in the region. 

Prior to joining the MDA, Mr. Simpson worked as a policy associate and a government relations associate for Defenders of Wildlife and the State Environmental Resource Center, in Washington, DC.  He also served as policy director for the State Environmental Resource Center, in Madison, Wisconsin.  Mr. Simpson served as assistant legislative director for the Office of Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV, in the United States Senate. 

Mr. Simpson is a native Central New Yorker who graduated from Colgate University in 1997.  He earned a master's degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.  Rob Simpson and his wife, Corinne Ribble, are residents of Syracuse.