John Bradley, who transformed the Tennessee Valley Authority’s strategy for recruiting businesses over more than two decades as its chief economic developer, will retire from his role Oct. 1.
Since joining TVA in 2002, Bradley and his team helped attract more than $150 billion in capital investment to the region, creating nearly 490,000 jobs and retaining more than 800,000 existing jobs, according to the federal utility.
His tenure included a megasite program that made the region an auto powerhouse, with a $1 billion Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, a $1.6 billion Mazda Toyota plant in Huntsville and a $5.6 billion Ford EV and battery complex planned outside Memphis.
TVA certified the land where the Volkswagen plant now sits as a megasite in 2005, and the automaker announced its plans in 2008. Volkswagen has since invested more than $4.3 billion in the Chattanooga plant and created more than 125,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to the manufacturer.
Bradley, 65, will hand the title of senior vice president of economic development to Heidi Smith, the longtime director of global business who was his first external hire in 2002. Smith became vice president of economic development as part of the transition.