The Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP) is pleased to announce Mike Kamerlander as its new President/CEO with Mike taking the leadership reins of our organization effective November 15.
“We’re excited to have Mike as our new CEO,” said GSMP Interim-President, Will Conley. “His leadership and expertise will be invaluable in guiding GSMP into its next phase of growth and development.”
Mike brings to the GSMP more than a decade of experience where he has demonstrated his ability to spearhead successful initiatives and foster collaboration resulting in tangible economic benefits in the communities he has represented, Conley added.
Mike is very familiar with economic investment and the pursuit of job growth in the region as he joins GSMP from Lockhart Economic Development where he served as Director, Economic Development. Prior to his employment in Lockhart, Kamerlander served as an Assistant Director of Economic Development at the City of San Antonio; Executive Director of the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation; and Vice President at the GSMP from 2012-2018.
While in Lockhart, Kamerlander developed the city’s first economic development strategic plan to promote Lockhart as a destination for job creation and investment. The successful program saw the development of a LEDC-owned 75 acre-acre industrial park housing Lockhart’s most recent announcement, The Ziegenfelder Company, a frozen treat manufacturer, investing $46 million and creating 100 new jobs.
Other projects include Millscale Metalworks, Visionary Fiber Technologies’ expansion, and RealCold which will build a 300,000 SF cold storage warehouse in Lockhart servicing the Austin/San Antonio corridor.
“Having spent my entire career in the Austin-San Antonio corridor and 6 years with GSMP directly, I’m thrilled to get to work in this new role continuing the organization’s important mission to improve the economies of Hays and Caldwell Counties,” Kamerlander said. “I have incredible gratitude for the board’s support in me and I look forward to working with them and the regional economic development organizations that make this part of Texas the best for business.”
Kamerlander received his Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) certificate in 2019 and his bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin. He is originally from Orlando, Florida but has lived and worked in the Austin region for more than 20 years.
“Mike is the right leader for the GSMP,” said Chairman of the Board for GSMP, Dr. Gene Bourgeois. “Mike’s background and business development skills will help strengthen partnerships, develop strategic alliances and expand our presence as a regional economic development organization.”
Mike joins GSMP at a time of strong national interest on the part of corporations looking at Hays and Caldwell Counties for potential investment opportunities.
During the 2023 fiscal year, GSMP and its regional partners assisted in bringing eight new companies with more than $166,960,000 in new capital investment and 150 jobs to Hays and Caldwell Counties.
Since 2020, 40 major companies have selected our two-county region of the Texas Innovation Corridor as their home.