ST. LOUIS — One of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ region’s biggest champions is leaving town.
Jason Hall, who helped pull together several area business groups to form Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Inc., is taking the helm of a similar business lobby in Columbus, Ohio.
Hall’s departure comes four years after he took charge of the new ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ business group, which combined organizations such as the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Regional Chamber, Downtown STL Inc. and Civic Progress, the former club of big CEOs that historically backed major regional initiatives.
A ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½-area native and former Bryan Cave lawyer, Hall held various posts in state government under former Gov. Jay Nixon, including heading state-backed startup fund the Missouri Technology Corp. and, briefly, the Department of Economic Development.
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Hall left government in 2013, taking a top job at the Regional Chamber. He was mentioned in 2016 as a possible candidate for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ mayor. In 2017, he left the Chamber and began leading a new organization, Arch to Park, backed by Andy Taylor, executive chairman and former CEO of Clayton-based car rental giant Enterprise Mobility. From there, Hall worked on issues focused on investing in the urban core and also lobbied against a proposed lease of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Lambert International Airport, which proposed big changes to the rental car business there.
In 2020, Hall and Taylor engineered the merger of the various civic groups to form Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Inc., which has tried to present a stronger, more unified lobbying voice in Jefferson City and on local issues.
Hall, 49, has used the position overseeing about 40 employees to try and project a new burst of energy for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, touting big jobs announcements and pushing for new regional amenities such as an urban trail network. The new group has made a point of emphasizing the need for investment in the region’s urban core in order to stem regional decline and population loss. Recently, it said it would purchase the Wainwright Building downtown, a historic high-rise that Missouri decided to dump as a state office building.
“Jason was a driving force in creating the (Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½) vision and enhancing our metro’s ability to compete with a unified voice to drive change and economic growth,†Taylor said in a statement. “Under his leadership, (Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½) has put major wins on the board and, in just four short years, is already recognized by our peers as a best-in-class organization.â€
Since its formation, Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ under Hall’s leadership has helped ink a deal for a direct international flight between Lambert and Frankfurt and worked with other leaders to land big investments, such as a $25 million federal grant to build an advanced manufacturing education center in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.
Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ has also been a strong advocate for downtown, which has struggled to recover since the pandemic and the shift to remote work. Recently, Hall, who has seemed to get along well with regional leaders during his tenure, has been out front pushing the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Board of Aldermen to use money from the NFL Rams relocation on infrastructure downtown and in poorer neighborhoods, irking Aldermanic President Megan Green in the process.
Hall had seemed to work well with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones during her term, collaborating on downtown security initiatives and efforts to secure downtown’s massive Railway Exchange building. But the relationship seemed to strain recently, and Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ turned to some Jones critics, including mayoral candidate Alderwoman Cara Spencer, to carry a bill implementing its investment proposal for the Rams cash.
Even so, the mayor on Monday called Hall “a good friend and a tireless cheerleader for our region.â€
“I wish Jason nothing but the best in his new endeavor, and look forward to our continued partnership with Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, Inc. as they transition to new leadership,†she said in a statement.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Executive Sam Page also praised Hall’s tenure.
“Jason worked hard to help create a unified vision of what the future of this great region should look like, focusing on growing the economy and creating a more welcoming environment for businesses and residents,†Page said in a statement.
Hall, who lives in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, will take the top job at the Columbus Partnership, the regional business group for one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Midwest. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ metropolitan area, while larger, lags most metros in the country in terms of population growth. At the same time, local political fragmentation and an often unfriendly state government in Jefferson City stymies efforts to rebuild a city hollowed out by deindustrialization and suburbanization.
Meanwhile, Taylor, who brought Hall on and is still founding chair of Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, is now in his mid-70s, and it’s unclear how much longer he will stay closely involved with the organization’s leadership.
Hall was paid about $473,000 in total compensation in 2022, Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ reported in its most recently publicly available tax filing. The Columbus Partnership paid current CEO Kenny McDonald, who announced in September he would step down, $585,000 in total compensation in 2022. After McDonald’s announcement, the Ohio organization said it would conduct a national search for a replacement. The year before, it paid the former CEO, Alex Fischer, over $1.1 million.
Steve Smith, who founded real estate development firm and sits on Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s board, said Hall “was instrumental in creating what we have and building the team.†The organization still has a great team, Smith said, and the organization’s success is based on “more than one person.â€
Hall’s recruitment by Columbus, Smith said, demonstrates that Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ is on the right track.
“I think what it shows is we built a great team and other people are taking notice,†Smith said. “They recruited Jason, from what I understand, and that’s because of the caliber and the quality of what we created.â€
Hall was unavailable for an interview, and Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ said he will step down in coming weeks. The organization will conduct a national search to find a new CEO. Meanwhile, Chief Real Estate Investment Officer Dustin Allison will serve as interim CEO.
“The vision of the STL 2030 Jobs Plan and the unified leadership of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ metro’s business community is creating unstoppable momentum and leading my hometown in a bold new direction with growth and opportunity for all,†Hall said in a statement. “It has been an honor beyond words to be a part of this exciting transformation underway. I will continue to champion ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ reaching its full potential from afar, and I look forward to this next phase in my career in metropolitan civic leadership.â€
