Ben Teague

Hi, I'm Ben Teague and I lead the economic development efforts for the Asheville area.

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Benjamin Teague Sr. Vice President of Economic Development The Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Economic Development Coalition   Ben Teague earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Mississippi College and his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi serving as a John N Palmer fellow and the MBA association president. Since graduation Ben Teague has furthered his professional education by completing the Economic Development Institute administered by the University of Oklahoma and earned the designation as Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP). Ben Teague started his career as a financial analyst with the Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA) and quickly moved to be a project manager for a business line of MTA, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi. After working at MTA Ben moved to Hattiesburg to serve as Vice President of Economic Development for The Area Development Partnership (ADP), a regional economic development entity.   Ben Teague was selected for Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi class of 2008-2009 and for The Mississippi Business Journal Top 40 under 40 for 2008. Throughout Ben Teague's career he has been extremely active in the community serving as a board member for Junior Achievement, Ability Works, Industries for the Blind, Riverfront Redevelopment Commission and the Downtown Commission. Professionally Ben Teague is a member of International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and serves on the Public Policy Advisory Committee. He also is a member of Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), the North Carolina Economic Development Association (NCEDA) and Carolina West.    Since landing in Asheville, NC in 2009 Ben Teague has lead his team to announce nearly $700,000,000 in capital investment. While not at work Ben Teague enjoys spending time with his wife Haley and his two boys Campbell and Coleman.  

Vice President at Area Development Partnership

January 2005 - December 2008

Served as the Vice President of Economic Development for a 3 county region of south Mississippi. Headed efforts of recruitment, existing business, community development, federal and state government relations.

Project Manager at Mississippi Technology Alliance

May 2002 - December 2004

Worked with state legislature and state agencies to implement technology based economic development strategies Performed financial analysis on alternative energy technology concepts Oversaw implementation of 5 clean energy technology assets

Executive Director/ Senior Vice President at Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce

December 2008

Lead Economic Development for the Asheville, NC area. Directly responsible for the following areas: Entreprenuership Marketing Existing Business Talent Development Research

University of Mississippi

2000 – 2002

MBA

Mississippi College

1996 – 2000

BS

Concentration: Business Administration

Marketing, Strategy, Economic Development, Government Relations, Public Relations, Family