greater:SATX, San Antonio, Texas, United States: The Management Team of greater:SATX

An essay of up to 650 words

• As the fastest-growing city in America, San Antonio added nearly 22,000 residents from July 2022 to July 2023.
   
• From 2019-2023, collaborative workforce programs have driven a 6-percentage-point increase in educational attainment, outpacing peer metros. In August, Forbes ranked San Antonio 4th in its Top 100 List of the most educated cities in America.
   
• Global leader in construction equipment manufacturing, JCB, broke ground on its new $500 million factory in San Antonio -- the biggest investment in the company’s history. Set to begin production in 2026, it is expected to employ 1,500 within the first five years.
   
• In cybersecurity and professional services, San Antonio welcomed Guidehouse, a global consultancy that plans to create 1,000 local jobs over five years. Nukudo, a cybersecurity workforce innovator, made San Antonio its U.S. headquarters.
   
• Air connectivity is crucial in the transformative growth for the San Antonio region. greater:SATX smartly partnered with Visit San Antonio, the San Antonio airport and local businesses to create an Air Fund. 2024 brought strong wins for the region including the first-ever nonstop flight to Europe, expanded service throughout Mexico and key domestic markets. The Department of Transportation gave final approval to American Airlines to operate San Antonio’s first nonstop flight to Ronald Regan Washington National Airport (DCA).
   
• greater:SATX launched news of a metro positivity study where San Antonio ranked 3^rd among 41 of the largest cities in the U.S. and Canada, including Denver, Toronto, Seattle, and New York. The new study used data from global employer review site Glassdoor analyzing corporate culture and values reviews posted from 2018-2023 for 575 large employers located in the largest metro areas in the U.S. and Canada, establishing a "metro positivity score" for each city. The study indicates how the city in which the associates work contributes to employee satisfaction, engagement, retention, and other outcomes.
   
• As a thought leaders CEO, Jenna Saucedo-Herrera published byline pieces in Forbes: The New Economic Development Model: More Than Business Recruiting and Strength In Unity: How Partnerships Can Drive Growth And Prosperity, and Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Cecilia Garcia Redmond, published this piece, Four Tips on How to Market a Region Beyond Visits.  This Q&A with Chief Economic Development Officer, Sarah Carabias Rush, was also recently published and delivers strong insights into the innovative work of the greater:SATX management team.

Total 641 words used.

The Management Team of greater:SATX -- Redefining San Antonio’s Economic Landscape, Driving a New Model in Equitable Economic Development

San Antonio is the fastest growing city in America. It is experiencing unprecedented economic growth, and at the forefront of this transformation is a remarkable team of women breaking barriers and setting new standards for leadership.

greater:SATX, the region’s economic development organization (EDO), is making history with an all-female executive team—a rarity in an industry long dominated by men.

Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, CEO; Sarah Carabias Rush, Chief Economic Development Officer; Romanita Matta-Barrera, Chief Advancement Officers; Cecilia Garcia Redmond, Chief Brand and Communications Officer; and Carmen Lara, Chief Financial Officer are the dynamic leaders steering San Antonio’s economic renaissance and inspiring future generations of women to dream bigger.

This team is driving major accomplishments. Between 2019 and 2023, these trailblazers have secured over 20,400 jobs and attracted $6.65 billion in capital investment through major projects with companies like JCB, Ernst & Young, Victory Capital, Navistar, and Aisin. In 2024 alone, 30 new projects generated $1.2 billion in additional capital and generated thousands of jobs.

But their influence extends far beyond numbers. This team also leads innovative workforce development programs for the region’s key industries: Cybersecurity, Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare/Life Sciences, Financial/Professional Services and Construction.

Unlike most economic development organizations (EDOs), this team rolls up their sleeves and gets directly involved in workforce development because a ready, skilled and sustainable workforce is the #1 reason for companies to locate, relocate or expand in a particular region.

They were the first EDO to leverage the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) framework across multiple industries. They just led its second-annual roundtable with 17 presidents of the local higher education institutions, along with staff and industry sector leaders, to discuss and influence higher education curriculum to ensure a ready workforce, as well as jointly establish education attainment goals for 2030 and beyond.  

Here are more accomplishments recently made by the greater:SATX management team:

• As the fastest-growing city in America, San Antonio added nearly 22,000 residents from July 2022 to July 2023.
   
• From 2019-2023, collaborative workforce programs have driven a 6-percentage-point increase in educational attainment, outpacing peer metros. In August, Forbes ranked San Antonio 4th in its Top 100 List of the most educated cities in America.
   
• Global leader in construction equipment manufacturing, JCB, broke ground on its new $500 million factory in San Antonio -- the biggest investment in the company’s history. Set to begin production in 2026, it is expected to employ 1,500 within the first five years.
   
• In cybersecurity and professional services, San Antonio welcomed Guidehouse, a global consultancy that plans to create 1,000 local jobs over five years. Nukudo, a cybersecurity workforce innovator, made San Antonio its U.S. headquarters.
   
• Air connectivity is crucial in the transformative growth for the San Antonio region. greater:SATX smartly partnered with Visit San Antonio, the San Antonio airport and local businesses to create an Air Fund. 2024 brought strong wins for the region including the first-ever nonstop flight to Europe, expanded service throughout Mexico and key domestic markets. The Department of Transportation gave final approval to American Airlines to operate San Antonio’s first nonstop flight to Ronald Regan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Its progress against its strategic plan under this current dynamic leadership team reflects a model of community-driven growth and collaboration that sets the stage for a thriving future in San Antonio.

Today, San Antonio is a majority-minority metro with a 56% Hispanic/Latino population. It reflects the demographic future of the U.S., projected to become majority-minority by 2045. The greater:SATX’s leadership team embodies and champions the values of inclusion and representation. This management team are leading growth that’s delivering prosperity for all – a new way forward in “equitable economic development.”