Wayne Burns
Project Director
Wayne Burns offers NCDS clients a perfect mix of business leadership, sales acumen, and economic development expertise. His career includes consulting work for Global 500 companies; staff and board assignments at local and regional economic development organizations; and successful fundraising campaigns for NCDS clients.
Wayne graduated with Honors, earning a BA in Sociology with a focus on race and ethnic relations, and an MBA in International Business Management and Finance from Florida Atlantic University. As a General Manager with Emerson Worldwide, Wayne consulted for business groups and executives at Johnson and Johnson, General Motors, GE, and other multinational corporations. He successfully led strategic branding campaigns and development initiatives exceeding $200 million working in partnership with IBM, EDS, Unisys, and Computer Sciences Corp. in Europe, South America, and Asia, developing local business strategies in 17 countries and in all 50 United States.
Wayne holds an internationally recognized Economic Development Certification in Business Retention and Expansion and has a proven track record in attracting high-tech businesses, and creating high wage, value-added jobs. As manager of the City of Plantation Florida’s Economic Development Division, Wayne was responsible for planning and implementing economic strategies to ensure stability and vitality for 85,000 residents. He coordinated nearly $1 billion in planned development projects, and led a groundbreaking 14-month strategic economic planning process, which gained active executive participation from Cigna, DHL, and other global corporations. In July of 2007, his peers recognized Wayne with the Economic Developer Volunteer of the Year Award for his innovative and strategic economic program excellence. He also served on the Florida Broward Alliance Board of Directors and was Chair Pro Tem on the Executive Board of the Economic Developers’ Partner's Council, a consortium of 31 cities governments and 27 chambers of commerce to form a regional economic development partnership.
As an NCDS project director, Wayne has worked with several Chambers and Economic Development Organizations. His most recent project was an over-goal campaign in rural Georgia for the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber and Economic Development Authority. Because of Wayne’s efforts, this small community has new resources to effectively compete with larger communities for jobs and investment.
Wayne is an involved citizen in his hometown of Douglasville Georgia where he and his wife Barbara volunteer to help with community events. He is an active member of the Douglasville Economic Restructuring Committee, and participates on the Promotion Committee, securing investment in support of the Main Street Program to revitalize Historic Douglasville. Wayne and his wife like to spend time together white water rafting, mountain hiking, and traveling to exotic off-the-beaten path locales.