Steve Harrison

Steve Harrison joined the Hampton Roads Alliance in June 2019. Steve previously served as Vice President of Business Intelligence & Communications, but stepped into the role of Interim Chief Strategy Officer in June 2022. In this role, Steve assists President & CEO Doug Smith with developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining strategic initiatives around business recruitment and expansion, business intelligence, and marketing.

Steve previously served as Research Director for the Alliance from 2010-2012. Between that time and his return to the Alliance in 2019, he served as Business Development and Research Manager for Virginia Beach Economic Development. During his tenure with the city, he significantly enhanced the way Virginia Beach positioned itself as a business destination through the creation of a variety of new portals and documents, including the Virginia Beach Community Profile, websites, and a first-of-its-kind iPad App. His work garnered four International Economic Development Council (IEDC) awards. He also served as a creator and lead of the VABeachBio biomedical business development initiative and on the board of 757Accelerate.

Steve is a Hampton Roads native with extensive experience in Economic Development. He is a two-time graduate of The College of William & Mary, with both a Bachelor’s in Government and a Master’s in Public Policy. He is actively involved in the community and served as President of the Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA) in 2021; he currently serves as VEDA's Immediate Past President. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement and as a member of the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC).