Paul Latture Named Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives 2017 Executive of the Year
Paul Latture, president of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, received the 2017 Executive of the Year award at the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives annual conference last week.
Latture’s impact on the community has been significant. Under his leadership, the Rutherford County Chamber has added more than 12,000 jobs and a capital expenditure of more than $1.7 billion. Travel-related expenses have increased every year, and through his tenure have totaled over $1.4 billion. In addition, he created an emphasis on workforce development, which has gained local, regional and national attention.
“Paul is well deserving of recognition for the numerous successes of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and the significant and leading role he and the Chamber have played in the robust business environment in Rutherford County,” said Bill Jones, area executive for Pinnacle Financial Partners.
“Paul is an indefatigable advocate for improving the economic development and quality of life in Rutherford County,” said MTSU Jennings A. Jones College of Business Dean David Urban. “You can pick the performance metric – Chamber membership, new business started or brought in, number of jobs created, tourism revenues generated – and Rutherford County has been on a very positive trajectory since Paul has been leading the Rutherford County Chamber.”
“Paul is a true believer in the importance of partnerships between business and education,” said Discovery Center President and CEO Tara MacDougall. “In my interactions and travels across the country, some of the most innovative collaborations that I have seen in workforce development are based right here in Rutherford County and have Paul’s fingerprint on them.”
Latture has a long and successful career in the chamber industry. He has led the Rutherford County Chamber since 2009, and prior to that, served as the president and chief executive officer of the Jackson Area Chamber. Additional career highlights include working as executive vice president for economic development for the Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Development Board, assistant commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and director of membership development and government affairs for the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce.
He is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management and Leadership Middle Tennessee. In addition, he is a past president of the Tennessee Economic Development Council and a member and past president of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives Association, serving as president in 2007.
The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, which includes the Convention & Visitors Bureau, Destination Rutherford, Economic Development and Workforce Development, seeks to promote economic development and a quality of life to benefit all residents of Rutherford County. Programs, events and services are offered to both its nearly 1,600 member organizations and non-members. The Chamber operates out of a main office on Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro, and has branch offices in Smyrna, La Vergne and Eagleville. Learn more at www.rutherfordchamber.org.
