John D. Chaffee is the former President/CEO of NC East Alliance, a regional economic development organization serving 29 counties in eastern North Carolina that incorporated workforce development and community development as part of its mission. In 2005, he retired after nearly 30 years in local economic development then again in 2019 after a 42+ year career in local/regional economic development and began working with Transworld Business Advisors – Eastern NC.
Mr. Chaffee earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economic Geography with a specialization in industrial location and regional economics. He was involved in projects resulting in the creation of roughly 10,000 new primary jobs and over $1 billion of investment. Incentive negotiation, project management and networking/team building were crucial to success.
He also served as the director of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Eastern Regional Office. The mission was to facilitate life sciences development in eastern North Carolina and gain an extensive knowledge of the regional life science sector and key players. His accolades include being named “Outstanding Young Leader in Geo-Economics” by Site Selection Handbook and most recently as one of North Carolina Power 100 by Business NC magazine (2018). He served on the State Advisory Board of the NC Small Business and Technology Development Center and the East Carolina University (ECU) Department of Biology Advancement Council. He currently serves on the ECU College of Engineering & Technology Advisory Board and chairs the NC Manufacturing Extension Partnership Advisory Board.
With Transworld, Mr. Chaffee primarily focuses attention on manufacturing, distribution and transportation sectors, but also assists technology companies.
He resides in Greenville with his wife Jody, has three grown (married) children, six fabulous granddaughters and a grandson. He enjoys, hiking, working in the yard, travel and reading.
