Bill Tompkins

Bill Tompkins is the Chief Operating Officer of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, based in Rockville MD. He directs all of their business operations and is responsible for implementing its strategic plan, along with working side by side with MCEDC’s President and CEO to ensure that they lead the charge for making Montgomery County one of the best places to be in business in the country.

Bill has a strong background in marketing, business operations, strategic planning, and nonprofit management, with most of his career serving as a senior executive in the media and entertainment industries with Fortune 500 companies. From 2009 until 2018, Bill ran a consulting practice which advised companies on strategic business opportunities and brand transformation strategies, in addition to taking on other corporate responsibilities.

From May 2014 until August 2015, Bill was Vice President, Advertising and Marketing at The Philadelphia Tribune. He made a strategic investment in The Tribune to help ensure the long-term sustainability of Black media in the US.

In July 2012 he was named President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a Washington based organization, which represents over 200 Black owned and operated newspapers across the nation.

From 2003 until 2009, Bill was Vice President and General Manager of the Motion Picture Film Group for the Eastman Kodak Company in their Entertainment Imaging Business. He managed the global $700 Million Motion Picture Distribution Products Group, including film and digital media strategy, marketing, product management, and quality operations. Bill joined Kodak in 2000 as Chief Marketing Officer for the Entertainment Imaging Business unit and served in that capacity until 2003. During his Kodak tenure, he was located in Hollywood, California.

Prior to Kodak, Bill spent nineteen years at The Washington Post Newspaper in a variety of executive positions. From 1994 until 2000, Bill was Vice President of Marketing where he directed all aspects of the newspaper’s marketing activities, including product development, pricing, brand strategy, Advertising, Circulation, and coordination with both the Newsroom and washingtonpost.com to help enhance their products.

Bill was also Director of National Advertising, Manager of Corporate and Financial Advertising Sales, and served in several other key positions in Marketing and Circulation at The Post.

Bill has been in active leadership positions on several nonprofit Boards. They include the Mosaic Theater Company of DC where he is Chair of the Board. He was previously Chairman, National Kidney Foundation, National Capital Area, member, Board of Directors, California Chamber of Commerce, the Advertising Council, the Studio Theatre, The Washington Convention and Visitors Association, The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the American Black Film Festival Advisory Board, and The Helen Hayes Awards Committee. He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Council, and a graduate of Leadership Washington.

Bill received his MBA from the Harvard Business School where he was a General Motors Fellow and received his BA in Economics, magna cum laude from Tufts University.