The Board of Directors of the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council (LSEDC) is pleased to announce that Joe Perry has been selected as the next President to lead the organization. Perry will assume this role on April 1, 2025.
Perry currently serves as the Vice President of Real Estate & Development for Port KC. Over the past 14 years at Port KC, he has been involved in more than 70 projects. Highlights of his tenure there include being instrumental in the development of Berkley Riverfront Park, an 85-acre master-planned community featuring over $800 million in office, retail, residential, hospitality, and cultural amenities. Additionally, he has contributed to the growth of a team that has facilitated over $2.4 billion in investments across Platte, Clay, and Jackson counties, including office, hotel, casino, residential, industrial, data center, and manufacturing projects.
Prior to joining Port KC in 2011, Mr. Perry served for eight years as the Commercial Director of Gale Communities in Lee’s Summit. He is also actively involved in multiple regional and national organizations including the Urban Land Institute, SAVE, Inc., the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors, and the Missouri Economic Development Finance Association.
“The Board of Directors engaged in an extensive selection process and carefully evaluated numerous highly qualified candidates,” said Mike VanBuskirk, Chairperson of the LSEDC. “Joe’s proven track record in economic development, public-private partnerships, community engagement, and organizational leadership guided the Board to select him for this pivotal role.”
“Joe is truly passionate about the future of Lee’s Summit and dedicated to fostering collaboration with both our public and private community partners,” said Lee’s Summit Mayor Bill Baird.
“The City of Lee’s Summit’s financial resilience and good governance, a strong Chamber and business community, the City’s continued unparalleled growth in health care, technology, lifetime learning, housing, as well as the explosion of Downtown Lee’s Summit is the opportunity that would allow me to leave a team and a job that I love,” said Joe Perry. “Anyone would be lucky to be given the opportunity to lead the LSEDC in this momentous point.”
The LSEDC is a nonprofit public-private partnership dedicated to business attraction, retention and expansion, and workforce development. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, the organization recently underwent a reorganization, adopting new bylaws and establishing a new Public Service Agreement with the City of Lee’s Summit. As part of this restructuring, the LSEDC expanded its Board representation to include additional governmental, education, and community partners alongside private-sector members.
