Bob Quick began as president and CEO of what was then the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce in February 2001. During his tenure, he would help reshape the organization and the region’s approach to economic development, including guiding the 2004 merger of the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce, Lexington United, and the Lexington Partnership for Workforce Development to form Commerce Lexington.
Bob Quick
Now, after 25 years leading the organization, Quick will retire at the end of July. Commerce Lexington has launched a national search for its next president and chief executive officer, retaining executive search company Waverly Partners to lead the process.
Among Quick’s most significant recent initiatives was overseeing the launch of a Regional Competitiveness Plan, a five-year strategy that brought Lexington together with Bourbon, Clark, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Montgomery, Scott, and Woodford counties in a collaborative regional economic development effort. The initiative markets Central Kentucky as a larger, more competitive region to site selectors and outside businesses.
Business Lexington recently spoke with Quick about regional collaboration, economic growth, leadership, and the evolution of Lexington’s business community during his time leading Commerce Lexington.
Collaboration has been a key strategy for improving the local economy. Over these past 25 years, have you learned that Lexington cannot go it alone?
We are better when we work together. The major reason is because our competition — the big metros, the million-plus population centers that we compete with — have an advantage in size unless we pull our nine counties together and compete. Together, we are now up to about 700,000 in population. That is important to site consultants and project owners.
We are much more competitive now. The results are astounding, and we are just getting started. We also have a workforce that is both smart and talented, a comparatively low cost of living, and an overall high quality of life.
Please elaborate on the results you have seen so far from the Regional Competitiveness Initiative.
We are making good progress in improving the region’s economic performance. Our goals were to increase the number of regional jobs, which are up 21 percent; wages, which grew by 28 percent; and GDP growth rates, which rose about 7 percent. We want to get them up to the national average.
We also wanted to increase the regional labor force, which we did, with an increase of 20,000 workers between 2019 and 2024. We are seeing notable gains in target sectors like manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing, aerospace, business and professional services, and logistics. We also sought to attract and retain young professionals, which we measure as a gain of 7,000 since 2023.
Another goal was securing more state and federal funding, and we have done that as well. We think we are accomplishing what we hoped we could do. The more success we have in growing new businesses, the more we help existing companies. We want them to stay here and grow. When we market to potential new businesses, it helps to show the success stories we already have.
Christina Meadows Mahan Multimedia
Quick spoke at the 2025 Regional Summit, an annual event hosted by Commerce Lexington that provides benchmarking updates to local constituents.
Have there been missed opportunities or continuing challenges that the region is still addressing?
I know of very few communities around the country that are perfectly happy with their talent recruitment and retention efforts. That will always be an opportunity for us.
Companies seeking new locations require a welcoming business climate, good infrastructure, a skilled workforce, abundant power, fast and predictable regulations, and ready-to-occupy buildings, or at least ready-to-build sites.
We also need to do an even better job reaching college graduates so they understand the job opportunities here, along with our quality of place and amenities.
Housing remains a challenge. During the 2008 recession, we were affected by how few housing units could be built, and everyone is still trying to make up for that shortage.
About 25 years ago, we conducted a study to measure how people perceived Lexington. They knew about horses, bourbon, and Big Blue Nation, but to many people we were still largely an unknown community. They did not know about the amenities, services, and opportunities here. Through technology and social media, we have changed that for the better. People learn about the region now and say they like what they see. Tourism is up.
You mentioned that marketing strategies today are very different from when you arrived in 2001. How so?
I think we are much better organized.
I go back to the 2004 merger of Lexington United, the Lexington Partnership for Workforce Development, and the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce into Commerce Lexington. That merger had a significant impact on our later success and brought all of our efforts into one laser focus.
Another major step was forming the nine-county initiative so we could present a united region to site selection firms and companies looking to relocate or expand. All the counties have learned how to help one another overcome challenges and turn them into opportunities.
During my time, we also developed one of the best Chamber staffs around. We won Chamber of the Year back in 2016.
What has been your leadership philosophy as president and CEO?
I believe in taking any shortcomings we might have and turning them into opportunities. When we bring the right people to the table, we can accomplish great things.
We have strong public- and private-sector leaders in Lexington and the surrounding counties, and over time we have gotten to know and trust each other.
I also like to empower my team to take ownership of their programs and events. Employees tend to perform better when they have the freedom to be creative. I just need to get out of their way and let them perform.
We also encourage staff to push back during debates on key issues instead of looking to me or our board chair and asking, “What do you want us to do?” We try to challenge ourselves through thoughtful dialogue.
What would you like your legacy to be from your years at Commerce Lexington?
I do not think much about legacy. I can honestly say I gave 110 percent of my life to this region for the benefit of future generations.
That gives me the best feeling of all — knowing we helped this region grow stronger. We did not do that by ourselves, but we were able to convene the right people and get things done. We helped make this a better place.