Director - Innovation
T: + 44 (0)114 223 2345
E: gene.deprez@sheffield.gov.uk
In April 2008, Gene DePrez was appointed as the Director of Innovation for Creativesheffield, City Development Company for the Sheffield city-region in England. Creativesheffield integrates activities of several merged predecessors including city and regional regeneration, business and inward investment, and expanded initiatives in innovation and the knowledge economy. Supported by strategic marketing and branding, it operates as a comprehensive company to effectively transform Sheffield’s regional economy. As chief innovation officer Mr DePrez will collaborate with a wide spectrum of national and regional organizations to champion innovation and collaboration in fulfilment of Sheffield’s Economic Masterplan.
Mr DePrez joined Creativesheffield from the New York City area, where he had been Americas and Co-Global Leader for Business Location and Economic Development Strategy in IBM’s Strategy & Change management consulting practice. He has over 30 years’ experience in corporate location strategy and economic development and has helped hundreds of the world’s leading organisations to decide where to locate their headquarters, research centres and other major business units.
Mr DePrez has directed economic development strategy projects for numerous states, provinces and regions in the North America and the UK and has led the development of best practice growth models for a number of universities and technology parks.
Mr DePrez had a similar role for PricewaterhouseCoopers, prior to IBM’s acquisition of PwC’s management consulting practice. He has also served as vice president of PHH Fantus and as Principal of Fluor Daniel Consulting, and was president/CEO of Partnerships DataNet, a Washington DC based national collaborative development initiative formed by the White House with business and association leaders. Earlier he was a university public affairs officer and held several marketing communications positions at Eastman Kodak.
He serves on the boards of the International Economic Development Council, Partners for Liveable Communities, and the Editorial Board of CoreNet Global, a real estate industry association. Mr DePrez earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Imaging Arts and Sciences from Rochester Institute of Technology and completed post graduate work in Urban Policy at Syracuse University in the US.
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