Business Development Staff
Shawn DaVis
Director, Business Development
Shawn DaVis joined the Greater Cleveland Partnership as a Business Development Director in June 2006. DaVis' duties at GCP focus on the execution of the GCP business development initiatives primarily grounded in business retention efforts.
Prior to joining GCP, Davis was involved in a manufacturing start-up that supplied parts to the automotive sector. There he was a Plant Manager responsible for all aspects of the operation. Duties included: setting up the facility, scheduling, building/managing/ training the workforce, quality, lean implementation, process improvement and engineering support.
DaVis previously served as Process Engineer at Ford Motor. During his tenure at Ford, he acquired a strong background in the lean manufacturing/six sigma disciplines as well as union relations. As an FPS(lean) trainer, he taught Ford's version of the Toyota Production System focused on lean manufacturing principles. He was also responsible for the constraint management program at the Ohio Assembly facility that targeted production bottlenecks, which dictated the areas of focus for the maintenance department with regards to weekend work, scheduling and project deployment.
DaVis also worked as a shop foreman at Aerotech Industries, a precision CNC job shop. While there, his responsibilities included management of the workforce, machine scheduling, CNC programming and sales.
In addition, DaVis was a Duties Operation Assistant with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
DaVis has more than 10 years of working experience in the areas of production, maintenance and engineering. He also spent a year as an Account Manager with Team NEO focusing on business retention and attraction efforts. DaVis is a Cleveland native and holds a Bachelors of Industrial Engineering from Cleveland State University.
Truc X. Cao
Manager, Business Development
Truc Cao joined the GCP, the largest private-sector economic development organization in Ohio and one of the largest metropolitan chambers of commerce in the nation with more than 15,000 members, as a Business/Economic Development Consultant in June 2007. Cao’s duties at GCP include managing and supporting the Business Development program, which focuses on retaining and advancing the growth of local companies, and attracting businesses worldwide to the Greater Cleveland region. In addition, Cao provides staff support for the Downtown Cleveland Office Retention program, which is a collaborative effort of GCP, Downtown Cleveland Alliance and the City of Cleveland, to increase the vitality of downtown office population.
Prior to joining GCP, Cao was a consultant at Silverlode Consulting Corp., a company that provides economic development solutions for public and private sectors throughout North America. Cao's working experience in economic development includes assisting businesses with real estate search, workforce development, economic growth incentives, business financial assistance, and connecting companies to resources in region.
Cao is an active member and volunteer of various professional, civic, and cultural organizations. Cao was recognized for her outstanding leadership and service to the Asian American community in the City of Cleveland by Mayor Frank G. Jackson. Most recently, Cao received the 2009 Emerging Leader Awards from Representative Marcia L. Fudge of the 11th Congressional District of Ohio.
Cao holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from John Carroll University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Cleveland State University. She is currently pursuing the Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) Certification. Cao is fluent in Vietnamese and has basic understanding of Chinese.