Full Name
Joe Reardon
Job Title
President & CEO
Company
Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
Speaker Bio
Joe Reardon, former Mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, is President and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the area’s oldest and only regional chamber of commerce.
Reardon assumed his post on March 1, 2016.
During his tenure at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Reardon:
• Currently serves on the KC2026 Board of Directors, the group of sports executives, government officials and civic representatives from across the region that delivered a strategic vision for securing the 2026 World Cup - the largest event in Kansas City history, in collaboration with many key stakeholders, including proposed training sites, hotel partners and Fan Fest locations.
• Co-led the successful “Better KCI” business-focused campaign for a new airport, speaking to more than 100 businesses and organizations.
• Convened the Kansas City Public Safety Coalition of 18 business, civic, and interfaith organizations that work together to improve public safety outcomes; this included putting together 7 citywide community listening sessions for the Kansas City Police Chief search.
• Serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, a group of 9,000 chamber of commerce executives leading more than 1,300 chambers, tourism bureaus, and economic development agencies nationwide.
• Organized the Chamber’s August 2019 Governors Summit where Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed a Memorandum of Understanding which formally ended the economic incentive border war between their two states, a longtime priority issue for the Chamber and regional leaders.
• Established new Chamber initiatives focusing on workforce development, supporting small businesses, inclusive prosperity, crime and violence, and diversity and inclusion.
• During his two terms as Mayor/CEO, Reardon had several notable accomplishments:
• He led the successful effort to bring Google high-speed fiber to his community in a competition that included more than 1100 cities across the nation.
• Sporting Park Soccer Stadium opened as the state-of-the-art home of Sporting Kansas City.
Prior to his appointment as President/CEO of the KC Chamber, Reardon served as President and CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, the $86-million public transportation authority serving the KC region.
Among his accomplishments at the KCATA:
• Reardon developed a seamless regional transit system by negotiating and implementing strategic partnerships to manage service in Johnson County and Independence.
• Successfully negotiated and entered into a Cooperative Agreement with Jackson County to acquire the 17-mile Rock Island Rail Corridor for future public and transit use.
• Developed the first of its kind public/private partnership to deploy Bridj, an app-based microtransit system in Kansas City.
He also served on the Kansas Early Childhood Education taskforce, appointed by Governor Laura Kelly.
As an Adjunct Professor at Rockhurst University, Reardon developed and co-taught an MBA level class on regionalism, an interdisciplinary course focused on the political and economic aspects of metro areas, with Kansas City as a case study.
A lawyer by training, Reardon also served as a Partner at McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, PA, where he
focused on economic development, public/private partnerships, and digital infrastructure projects.
Education
University of Kansas, Lawrence KS – Juris Doctor
Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO – Bachelor of Arts, Political Science
Awards
• Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics, Rockhurst University
• Ilus W. Davis Award, Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission
• Wyandotte Countian of the Year, Kansas City Kansas Community College Endowment Association
• Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers Recipient
• Kansas Mayor of the Year, Kansas Mayors’ Association
• OneKC Award, Kansas City Area Development Council
• Rosa Parks Spirit Award, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
• Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award, JCRB|AJC
Reardon assumed his post on March 1, 2016.
During his tenure at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Reardon:
• Currently serves on the KC2026 Board of Directors, the group of sports executives, government officials and civic representatives from across the region that delivered a strategic vision for securing the 2026 World Cup - the largest event in Kansas City history, in collaboration with many key stakeholders, including proposed training sites, hotel partners and Fan Fest locations.
• Co-led the successful “Better KCI” business-focused campaign for a new airport, speaking to more than 100 businesses and organizations.
• Convened the Kansas City Public Safety Coalition of 18 business, civic, and interfaith organizations that work together to improve public safety outcomes; this included putting together 7 citywide community listening sessions for the Kansas City Police Chief search.
• Serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, a group of 9,000 chamber of commerce executives leading more than 1,300 chambers, tourism bureaus, and economic development agencies nationwide.
• Organized the Chamber’s August 2019 Governors Summit where Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed a Memorandum of Understanding which formally ended the economic incentive border war between their two states, a longtime priority issue for the Chamber and regional leaders.
• Established new Chamber initiatives focusing on workforce development, supporting small businesses, inclusive prosperity, crime and violence, and diversity and inclusion.
• During his two terms as Mayor/CEO, Reardon had several notable accomplishments:
• He led the successful effort to bring Google high-speed fiber to his community in a competition that included more than 1100 cities across the nation.
• Sporting Park Soccer Stadium opened as the state-of-the-art home of Sporting Kansas City.
Prior to his appointment as President/CEO of the KC Chamber, Reardon served as President and CEO of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, the $86-million public transportation authority serving the KC region.
Among his accomplishments at the KCATA:
• Reardon developed a seamless regional transit system by negotiating and implementing strategic partnerships to manage service in Johnson County and Independence.
• Successfully negotiated and entered into a Cooperative Agreement with Jackson County to acquire the 17-mile Rock Island Rail Corridor for future public and transit use.
• Developed the first of its kind public/private partnership to deploy Bridj, an app-based microtransit system in Kansas City.
He also served on the Kansas Early Childhood Education taskforce, appointed by Governor Laura Kelly.
As an Adjunct Professor at Rockhurst University, Reardon developed and co-taught an MBA level class on regionalism, an interdisciplinary course focused on the political and economic aspects of metro areas, with Kansas City as a case study.
A lawyer by training, Reardon also served as a Partner at McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, PA, where he
focused on economic development, public/private partnerships, and digital infrastructure projects.
Education
University of Kansas, Lawrence KS – Juris Doctor
Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO – Bachelor of Arts, Political Science
Awards
• Rashford-Lyon Award for Leadership and Ethics, Rockhurst University
• Ilus W. Davis Award, Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission
• Wyandotte Countian of the Year, Kansas City Kansas Community College Endowment Association
• Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers Recipient
• Kansas Mayor of the Year, Kansas Mayors’ Association
• OneKC Award, Kansas City Area Development Council
• Rosa Parks Spirit Award, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
• Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award, JCRB|AJC
Speaking At
