Hickey Global is a part of the Hickey Family of global advisory companies, utilizing its immense capabilities across a global footprint. With more than 20 offices worldwide and a diverse team of economic development, site selection, research, and marketing staff, Hickey Global handles innovative and complex assignments.
ENGAGEMENT TEAM
Barry Matherly has helped communities prosper by creating opportunities for new investment and job growth for over 25 years. As a certified economic development professional and trusted thought leader, he develops growth strategies to create vibrant, inclusive communities.
Barry leads Hickey Global, a part of the Hickey Family of global advisory companies, utilizing its immense capabilities across a global footprint. With 25 offices throughout the world and a diverse team of economic development, site selection, research, and marketing staff; Hickey handles innovative and complex assignments.
Mr. Matherly is a Past Chair of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the largest economic development association in the world, and is the Dean and an Instructor at the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.
Over a long career managing economic development organizations, Barry has leadership experience at the city, county, regional and university levels. He also interned 3 years for the United States Department of Commerce and worked 6 years in management for a Fortune 500 company.
Barry has a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and a master’s degree from Virginia Tech University. He is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and a recipient of the Robert B. Cassell Leadership Award.
Barry Matherly was named one of the 40 Leaders Under 40 (2002) by the Charlotte Business Journal, recognized as a North Carolina Main Street Champion, designated as a Fellow Member and Honorary Life Member by IEDC and is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum. He was also inducted into Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs Alumni Hall of Fame.
Barry I. Matherly, CEcD, FM, HLM
President & CEO
Hickey Global
North Carolina
Organization Benchmarking
Strategic Planning
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) & Exporting
Creating or Rethinking an Economic Development Org.
Ecosystem Building
Bethany Joy Miller joins Hickey Global as a Senior Economic Development Consultant focused on the firm’s business development efforts and project management services. She is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), who has spent over 15 years building a career across local, regional, and state organizations, and in the private sector.
Before joining Hickey Global, Bethany was Amazon’s first economic development hire dedicated exclusively to its Physical Stores line of business. She created the blueprint for the “community-as-customer” guide, which prioritized understanding the nuances of community needs and interests and finding alignment with Amazon’s business priorities as the company expanded its portfolio of grocery and convenience stores across the country.
From 2019-2021, Bethany served as Vice President of Regional Economic Development for the Greater Houston Partnership. Bethany managed a team of economic development professionals responsible for recruiting companies in the Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Digital Tech, Energy, Life Sciences, and Logistics industries. During the two years of the pandemic, her leadership helped the Houston region secure 47 companies that made a collective $1.6 billion in capital investment and created 6,100 direct jobs.
During the six years before her time in Texas, Bethany worked for the Greater Richmond Partnership (GRP), first as a Vice President of Business Development, then as Vice President of Domestic Investment. Bethany traveled the world to meet with companies across the US, England, France, Ireland, Canada, and Brazil. Her personal business development success resulted in the location of 22 companies that collectively made $149 million of capital investments and added more than 1,000 direct jobs to the region.
Before GRP, Bethany worked for local-level economic development teams in Gahanna, Ohio, and Stafford, Virginia, leading Business Retention & Expansion efforts. Bethany also served the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development as an Enterprise Zone Program Administrator, distributing grants to companies in geographically designated zones for qualifying job creation and capital investments.
Bethany is a member of IEDC’s Board of Directors and is Co-Chair of the Council’s Racism & Economic Development Committee. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Bethany holds a Master of City & Regional Planning from The Ohio State University. She lives in Central Virginia with her immediate family.
Bethany J. Miller, CEcD
Senior Economic Development Consultant
Hickey Global
Virginia
CRM System Design
Strategic Business Development
Export Promotion
Business Retention & Expansion
Stakeholder Engagement
Kelsi Alexander is the economic development specialist at Hickey Global. Kelsi uses her extensive experience at the community level to take a strategic approach to each project and identify opportunities specific to each client’s success.
Originally from Memphis, TN, she holds a bachelor’s in organizational communication from Western Kentucky University and is currently in pursuit of her Masters in Economic Development from Murray State University. In addition, she was a founding member of the Young Talent Cabinet through Tennessee Valley Authority’s Young Professionals in Economic Development group.
In her previous roles as Economic Development Coordinator for the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce and the Director of Economic Development for Barren County, Kentucky, Kelsi assisted with the region’s efforts to retain and grow existing businesses, attract new businesses, and create jobs. She also developed and implemented workforce training programs to help businesses find qualified employees.
Kelsi is a strategic thinker with a proven track record of success in economic development. She is skilled at building relationships with key stakeholders and identifying opportunities for growth. She is also a creative problem-solver who is always looking for new ways to help businesses succeed.
Kelsi Alexander
Economic Development Specialist
Hickey Global
New York
Economic Development Strategy
Mark James is a Principal with Hickey Global supporting business development and project management services while leveraging the firm’s global reach as a part of the Hickey and Associates family of companies.
Prior to this James served as vice president – Sales, Economic and Business Development for American Electric Power, responsible for the strategic expansion of AEP's Economic and Business Development programs, identifying and pursuing opportunities to increase jobs and retail customer load across AEP’s 11 state, 200,000 square mile service territory.
From 2002 to 2011, James served as founder and president of ED Solutions, Inc., a consulting firm providing economic development tools, training, and project management services to the economic development profession. James’ firm assisted over 200 communities across the United States, Canada, and the UK.
Previous tothese roles, James spent 17 years in progressively responsible positions with American Electric Power. He has also held positions as director of community development for the community of Bethel Park, Pa., and regional planner for the Bel-O-Mar Regional Council in Wheeling, W.Va.
He holds a bachelor's degree in geography and environmental science from Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in economic geography from Oregon State University. James is a graduate of the University of Michigan's Ross Graduate School of Business Executive Management Program and is a certified economic developer (CEcD) and a Fellow (FM) with the Industrial Asset Management Council. He is an instructor at and Past Dean of the Economic Development Institute. He is immediate past board chair of the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth. James is a board member of Junior Achievement of Central Ohio and the Ohio Statewide Development Corporation.
He is a member of the International Economic Development Council and a past member of the Industrial Asset Management Council and the Utility Economic Development Association. Mark is also a licensed scuba instructor and is a sailing enthusiast.
Mark James, CEcD
Principal, Utility Practice
Hickey Global
North Carolina
Utility EDOs
EDO Technology Applications
Digital Marketing & Design
Lead Generation Strategies
Strategic Planning
EDO Benchmarking
Trent Shaw is an economic development consultant with Hickey Global. With a wide-ranging knowledge of data trends and strategic implementation, Trent has worked with the Hickey Global team to create unique services and tools dedicated to helping communities succeed.
Before working exclusively with the Hickey Global team, Trent acted as Analyst for the Hickey & Associates site selection team. In addition to developing labor studies, real estate assessments, and site selection criteria for some of Hickey & Associates’ Fortune 500 clients, Trent used his knowledge of incentive programs to develop unique benchmarking models for the practice. In 2022, Trent joined the Hickey Global team full time to service economic development clients.
As Research Director for Enterprise Florida, Trent worked closely with state and local economic developers to identify target industries, implement new policies and initiatives, and develop processes by which to measure them. Trent took an active role in business recruitment and expansion opportunities, providing the business development team with strategic intelligence to create leads and secure project commitments. Trent also created and supported an inter-departmental research team to align resources and address gaps in training and infrastructure investments throughout Florida.
Originally from Orlando, Florida, Trent now resides in Brooklyn, New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Central Florida. He is a member of the Council for Community and Economic Research and has served as an interim board member for the organization.
Trent Shaw
Economic Development Consultant
Hickey Global
New York
Research & Data Analytics