Exit interview: Inaugural St. Pete EDC head reflects on tenure

J.P. DuBuque, founding president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Economic Development Corp., will be the first to tell you that, despite his title, “the EDC didn’t really start with me.” Founded in 2016, the idea for the organization was a product of the city’s Grow Smarter strategy, a 2014 initiative created by the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of St. Petersburg, with the goal of improving the city’s ability to support diverse economic growth.

“When I started, I wanted to see what this community could be and do the things to help it get there,” DuBuque says. “That required us to do things a little bit differently than a traditional economic development entity.”