Building Montgomery County’s Future: Economic Growth and Innovation with MCEDC’s Bill Tompkins

BioTalk with Rich Bendis

In this episode of BioTalk, Bill Tompkins, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), discusses the strategies driving Montgomery County’s position as a leading bioscience hub. Bill highlights MCEDC’s role in reinforcing the region’s standing as the third-largest bioscience cluster in the U.S. and shares insights into the new Institute for Health Computing. He also introduces two new venture funds—the Technology Innovation Fund and the Founders Fund—designed to accelerate innovation and support local entrepreneurs.

Bill outlines MCEDC’s priorities for the upcoming year, emphasizing economic growth, investment opportunities, and fostering collaborations that make Montgomery County a thriving ecosystem for business and life sciences.

Bill Tompkins is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), based in Rockville MD. He leads a team of twenty-five diverse professionals who work to fulfill the mission of making Montgomery County one of the best, most diverse and equitable places to be in business in the country. Bill was previously Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and has been with MCEDC since January of 2019.

Bill has a seasoned background in marketing, business operations, strategic planning, and nonprofit management, with most of his career serving as a senior executive in the media and entertainment industries with Fortune 500 companies. Bill also ran a consulting practice which advised companies on strategic business opportunities and brand transformation strategies.

From May 2014 until August 2015, Bill was Vice President, Advertising and Marketing at The Philadelphia Tribune. He made a strategic investment in The Tribune to help ensure the long-term sustainability of Black media in the US.

In July 2012, he was named President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a Washington based organization, which represents over two hundred Black owned and operated newspapers across the nation.

Bill joined the Eastman Kodak Company in 2000 as Chief Marketing Officer for the Entertainment Imaging Business unit and became Vice President and General Manager of the Motion Picture Film Group while also serving as a corporate vice president.

Prior to Kodak, Bill spent nineteen years from 1982 until 2000 at The Washington Post Newspaper in a variety of executive positions. His most recent position there was Vice President of Marketing with most of his career spent in the Advertising and Circulation Departments.

Bill has been in active leadership positions on several nonprofit Boards including the Mosaic Theater Company of DC where he is Treasurer and the former Chair of the Board, Rockville Economic Development (REDI), Worksource Montgomery and the Advisory Boards of the Universities at Shady Grove and Montgomery Moving Forward.

He was previously Chairman, National Kidney Foundation, National Capital Area, member, Board of Directors, California Chamber of Commerce, the Advertising Council, the Studio Theatre, The Washington Convention and Visitors Association, The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the American Black Film Festival Advisory Board, and The Helen Hayes Awards Committee. He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Council, and a graduate of Leadership Washington.

Bill is a member of the Economic Club of Washington, the Executive Leadership Council, and a graduate of Leadership Washington.

Bill received his MBA from the Harvard Business School where he was a General Motors Fellow and received his BA in Economics, magna cum laude from Tufts University.

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).