Faculty Profile: Clay Banks

Clay joined the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in March of 2012 as Regional Director of Southwest Tennessee. Clay now serves as Regional Director for 13 counties in Southern Middle Tennessee. Clay helps coordinate efforts to execute Governor Haslam’s mission to make Tennessee the Number 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. Clay and his team in Southern Middle Tennessee work to attract new corporate investment and facilitate expansions with existing Tennessee companies to spark economic growth. In 2013, Clay and his team helped to facilitate over 3,000 new jobs for the region, topping all other regional job development efforts in the state. 

 

Clay was recently awarded as a Top 40 Under Forty Economic Development Professional by Development Counselors International and the International Economic Development Council. Clay has over 10 years of community and business development leadership for private sector firms, non-profit, city and state organizations. Clay has a passion working with communities and connecting people and businesses to resources that will accelerate systemic economic growth. Clay is an advocate for innovation and starting new ventures. Clay has an entrepreneurial background and has started or co-founded four small companies. Clay’s most recent venture HAVEN has been featured on Forbes, Entrepreneur and CBS as a disruption to the home security space.