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Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council Names Joe Perry President

The Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council announced Joe Perry has been selected as the next President effective April 1. Photo courtesy of Lee's Summit Economic Development Council.

Posted March 10, 2025

The Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council named Joe Perry, a Port KC veteran, its next president.

Perry will assume the role on April 1, 2025, according to a release. For nearly 15 years, Perry has been involved in more than 70 projects with Port KC, where he currently serves as vice president of real estate & development.

Perry succeeds Rick McDowell, who retired from his role at the end of 2022.

He has been involved in developing the Berkley Riverfront Park, an 85-acre community featuring over $800 million in office, retail, residential, hospitality, and cultural amenities. Perry has also been integral in facilitating over $2.4 billion in investments across Platte, Clay, and Jackson counties. The investment has reached an array of fields including office, hotel, casino, residential, industrial, data center, and manufacturing projects, according to the release.

Before Port KC, Perry served as the commercial director of Gale Communities in Lee’s Summit for eight years.

”The City of Lee’s Summit’s financial resilience and good governance, a strong Chamber and business community, the City’s continued unparalleled growth in health care, technology, lifetime learning, housing, as well as the explosion of Downtown Lee’s Summit is the opportunity that would allow me to leave a team and a job that I love,” Perry said in the release. “Anyone would be lucky to be given the opportunity to lead the LSEDC in this momentous point.”

The LSEDC is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025 in addition to experiencing a restructuring initiative. The restructuring introduced new bylaws and established a new Public Service Agreement with the City of Lee’s Summit. The LSEDC said it is committed to expanding its Board representation to include more governmental, education, and community partner representation alongside private-sector members.