Economic Development 2024: DOUG SMITH

In the first few months of 2024, freight business Total Quality Logistics announced it would open a new location in Norfolk, and Australian company Quality Maritime Surveyors said it was expanding to the Hampton Roads area. The announcements continue momentum from 2023, when the Hampton Roads Alliance’s 13 new project announcements represented more than 2,800 new jobs and $625 million in capital investment.

Smith took the helm of the Hampton Roads Alliance, a regional economic development organization representing 14 municipalities and numerous private-sector investors, in 2019. Before that, he served as city manager for Norfolk and served stints as deputy city manager in both Virginia Beach and Portsmouth.

Smith, who earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, also was president and CEO of Kaufman & Canoles for four years. He serves as an ex-officio board member for the Virginia Peninsula Chamber and the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable and is a board member for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.

As part of its five-year plan, the Alliance expects to bring 7,000 jobs to the region by the end of 2027.