Bo Kemp: Chief Executive Officer
Chicago, IL – Leading redevelopment and high growth specialist Bo Kemp has been named Chief Executive Officer of Southland Development Authority. Kemp, who will oversee the Authority's ambitious efforts to grow the economy of Chicago's South Suburbs, brings an understanding of the complexities of inclusive economic development and how to build strong networks that support growth. He has over a decade of experience driving innovation in areas like the Southland that have a deep history and legacy of economic innovation.
Kemp spent the first decade of his professional career in finance with Morgan Stanley and TSG Capital Group, a private equity group. Then, after leading Cory A. Booker's successful transition to the office of Mayor of Newark, N.J., Kemp became the City's Business Administrator. Kemp and the senior leadership team helped Newark evolve from a city close to bankruptcy to a community growing in population for the first time in 40 years.
The Southland Development Authority was launched in 2019 by business, civic and political leaders across the Southland to drive economic growth in the region. In 2020, the organization received $1 million from Cook County as part of the COVID-19 Recovery Small Business Assistance program to deliver critical resources to South Suburban businesses impacted by the pandemic. The authority has assisted over 450 businesses in the South Suburbs, including 269 minority-owned businesses.
