Roanoke Regional Partnership names new executive director

The Roanoke Regional Partnership announced Tuesday that John Hull has been named as its executive director. He succeeds Beth Doughty, who retired in December 2020 after 22 years with the organization.

Hull has worked with the partnership since 2010, most recently serving as its director of marketing intelligence. He was previously the acting director of business investment and executive director of the Western Virginia Regional Industrial Facility Authority and regional economic development manager with the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission.

“John is one of those rare individuals that is a data-driven decision maker, yet understands the importance of relationships,” Roanoke Regional Partnership President Brett Marston said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him on the partnership’s current activities, as well as on future initiatives.”

Doughty joined the Roanoke Regional Partnership in 1990 as marketing director, served as executive director from 1992 to 1999 and then served as president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce from 1999 to 2008. She then rejoined the partnership as executive director and also served as president of the Virginia Economic Developers Association.

Founded in 1983, the Roanoke Regional Partnership is a public-private economic development marketing and strategy organization for Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke counties, the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem, and the town of Vinton, as well as more than 200 businesses. Since its inception, it has worked with partners to create more than 19,000 jobs and has generated an estimated $19 billion in economic development investments.

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