Ron wears many hats personally and professionally. He is the ULI Charlotte Chair for 2014-2016, Deputy City Manager of the City of Charlotte (recently completing 40 years of service in 3 cities), and an advocate for stopping domestic violence. Undertaking each role with passion and foresight, Ron says the most satisfying part of his job is building a community with over 7,000 City of Charlotte teammates.

As a youngster growing up in Chicago (actually his hometown is Galesburg, IL), Ron’s father taught him about being a servant leader. Ron’s leadership advice is “Trust and timing are everything. Knowing the right time and way to engage drives success.”

ULI has made an impact on Ron over the years. ULI’s Advisory Panels have helped the city engage the community and identify potential solutions for redevelopment. “Throughout ULI, the intersection of public, private and non-profit perspectives on how to best build communities is what makes ULI like no other organization out there.” The most interesting land use challenge he has participated in was negotiating the public financing and deal structure and vision for the Levine Center for the Arts.

When Ron isn’t busy helping Charlotte grow, he spends his time relaxing in Anna Maria Island in Florida and raising awareness for Safe Alliance and the Jamie Kimble Foundation for Courage to stop domestic violence. Alongside his wife Jan, Ron honors the memory of their late daughter Jamie by bringing awareness to the domestic violence epidemic.

Ron’s job and his interest in sports collided in 2014 when international soccer was brought to Charlotte, hosting the Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea teams this past July for the International Champions Cup at the Bank of America Stadium. He continues to work on bringing FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich to Charlotte in the future. These games not only bring international soccer to Charlotte, but thousands of fans as well, boosting area businesses and the exposure of Charlotte on an international scale.