North Carolina A&T State University alumnus Joshua Gunn has been named president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, bringing his HBCU roots and extensive economic development experience to one of the South’s major business markets.
The chamber announced Gunn’s appointment on Friday, Nov. 6, following a national search. He will officially assume the position on Dec. 10.
Gunn, a Durham, North Carolina, native, earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from North Carolina A&T, one of the nation’s largest historically Black colleges and universities.
His appointment places an HBCU graduate at the forefront of economic development in Memphis, a city with a rich Black cultural and entrepreneurial history.
North Carolina A&T graduate brings economic development experience
Gunn brings more than 15 years of executive leadership experience in business recruitment, workforce development and regional economic growth.
Most recently, he served as director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development for the City of Durham.
During his first year, Gunn helped lead the recruitment and development of a $1.4 billion advanced biomanufacturing facility for pharmaceutical company AbbVie.
The project represents the largest single private investment in Durham’s history. It is expected to create 734 permanent life sciences jobs and generate an estimated $8 billion in economic impact.
Before returning to his hometown, Gunn served as president and CEO of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce in Arizona. He previously led the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce and its CEO Council in Illinois.
During his four years in Peoria, Gunn launched the Greater Peoria 2030 regional talent attraction coalition, an award-winning initiative designed to strengthen the region’s workforce and economic competitiveness.
He also previously served on the National Board of Directors for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.
HBCU alumnus selected to lead Memphis business community
Greater Memphis Chamber officials praised Gunn’s ability to connect business development with public policy and community investment.
“Following a comprehensive national search, Joshua Gunn emerged as the clear choice to lead the Greater Memphis Chamber into its next era of growth,” said Duncan Williams, interim president and CEO and chairman of the board of directors.
Williams pointed to Gunn’s experience negotiating major economic development projects and building partnerships between businesses and local governments.
“He knows how to run a major-market chamber, structure complex public-private partnerships, and close transformative deals,” Williams said.
Gunn will help lead the chamber’s Prosper Memphis 2030 economic development strategy.
For the North Carolina A&T graduate, the opportunity represents a return to the type of community-centered economic leadership that has defined his career.
“Memphis carries a corporate and logistics identity few regions in the world can match, combined with genuine entrepreneurial grit, a rich cultural heritage, and rapidly expanding leadership in advanced computing and modern digital infrastructure,” Gunn said.
“I have spent my career at the intersection of corporate growth, public policy, and community building, and Memphis is the exact city built for that work.”
Beyond his work in economic development, Gunn is also recognized as a creative entrepreneur and national speaker who emphasizes the relationship between culture, community and economic opportunity.
His appointment adds another HBCU graduate to a prominent leadership position in American business and economic development.
Gunn officially begins his new role on Dec. 10.