Full Name
Dell Gines
Job Title
Chief Innovation Officer
Company
International Economic Development Council (IEDC)
Speaker Bio
Dr. Dell Gines serves as Chief Innovation Officer at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the world’s largest professional association for economic developers. He directs four portfolios, professional development, research, emerging practices, and international strategy, ensuring that practitioners worldwide can adapt to market shifts, societal changes, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence to build local economies that work for everyone.
With more than 21 years of experience in community and economic development, Dr. Gines is a nationally recognized authority on entrepreneurship-led growth. He has authored six practitioner guides and two books on entrepreneurial ecosystems, and his insights have been featured by PBS, Forbes, Black Enterprise, CNN Business, Brookings, and Entrepreneur. As a speaker, he has delivered keynotes on innovation and economic transformation in 37 U.S. states and territories and in multiple countries across North America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Within IEDC, his Emerging Practices portfolio manages all grant-funded initiatives, including the $30 million Economic Recovery Corps program, while his international strategy role advances the organization’s global expansion. Dr. Gines is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and holds an MBA, a Master of Finance, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska. His honors include Omaha Jaycees Top 10 Outstanding Young Leaders, induction into the Kansas City Black Achievers Society, multiple Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President’s Awards, and the University of Nebraska Omaha Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Service.
With more than 21 years of experience in community and economic development, Dr. Gines is a nationally recognized authority on entrepreneurship-led growth. He has authored six practitioner guides and two books on entrepreneurial ecosystems, and his insights have been featured by PBS, Forbes, Black Enterprise, CNN Business, Brookings, and Entrepreneur. As a speaker, he has delivered keynotes on innovation and economic transformation in 37 U.S. states and territories and in multiple countries across North America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Within IEDC, his Emerging Practices portfolio manages all grant-funded initiatives, including the $30 million Economic Recovery Corps program, while his international strategy role advances the organization’s global expansion. Dr. Gines is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and holds an MBA, a Master of Finance, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska. His honors include Omaha Jaycees Top 10 Outstanding Young Leaders, induction into the Kansas City Black Achievers Society, multiple Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President’s Awards, and the University of Nebraska Omaha Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Service.
