Colorado economic development luminary Tom Clark dead at 75

DENVER — Tom Clark, a leader for decades with economic-development groups in Denver, Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley, died this week from frontotemporal dementia, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., an organization he served as CEO for more than a decade. He was 75.

“You can’t talk about Colorado’s economic development without talking about Tom Clark,” Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO J.J. Ament said in a prepared statement. “Few people have had the kind of lasting impact that Tom Clark has. The model of regional collaboration he built is being replicated to this day, quite literally around the world. We owe so much to his vision, and his legacy continues in our work today.”

Known as the “Godfather of Regionalism” for his commitment to a cooperative approach to economic development, Clark retired from the Metro EDC in 2017.

“Aside from the benefit of having Tom’s energy and vision in our community as a short-time Boulder Chamber president, our economy benefited from the leadership he demonstrated in driving a commitment to regional collaboration in economic development that stands out as a key element of our shared Denver metro prosperity,” Boulder Chamber CEO John Tayer told BizWest Friday.

A Minnesota native, Clark worked as a political organizer in Chicago and held various posts in Illinois state government, focusing on workforce development, land-use planning and local-government revenue, before taking a job in 1982 as the director of economic development for the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce. In Fort Collins, Clark is instrumental in luring the Anheuser-Busch brewery to town.

Clark left Colorado in 1985 to partner in a land-use planning company in North Palm Beach, Florida, but the savings-and-loan scandal led to its bankruptcy. He returned to the Centennial State and served two years as vice president for economic development at the Denver Chamber of Commerce, then seven as vice president and president of Greater Denver Corp., where he is credited with helping shepherd the development of Denver International Airport.

“With Tom’s passing, we lost a true champion of Denver and the entire metro region,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a prepared statement. “But we all will forever benefit from his decades of contributions to improve our business climate and economy, and to develop the iconic and special places that define our region. Tom was a unifying leader ahead of his time, and he pioneered a collaborative western spirit that ensured the public and private sectors tackled our biggest challenges together, and that regional communities joined together to collaborate instead of compete.”

In 1994, Clark took over as president of the Boulder Chamber, where he reorganized the chamber’s Boulder Development Commission and helped launch the Boulder Economic Council. 

“Tom was always quick with pearls of wisdom, and some of them have stuck with me for decades,” Clif Harald, the former BEC executive director, told BizWest in a 2017 interview.  “The main one is ‘Invite everyone into the tent.’ That’s his regionalism. Colleagues become friends, competitors become collaborators, and the metro area becomes a leader.”

In 1997, Clark returned to the Denver Chamber of Commerce to serve as vice president for external affairs “but it didn’t work out,” he told BizWest in 2017. “After 18 months I got an offer from Jefferson County to head the Jefferson Economic Council. We had great boards — courageous, daring. Our team rezoned 2,000 acres to become available for development.”

In 2003 he became executive vice president of the Denver chamber and chief executive of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp, a role he held for the next 14 years. 

“Tom Clark didn’t just shape Colorado’s economy — he shaped my career and my life,” Metro Denver EDC president Raymond Gonzales said in a prepared statement. “He taught me how to be an economic developer, how to build coalitions, and how to lead with vision and integrity. More than that, he was my mentor and my friend. I wouldn’t be the leader I am today without him, and I know I’m just one of many who can say the same. Tom’s impact on our state — and on all of us who were lucky enough to learn from him — will never fade.”

Clark’s geriatric psychiatrist Aaron Greenstein, in a statement provided by Metro EDC, confirmed that he died of FTD, “a progressive degenerative disease that limits a person’s personality, social cues, organizational skills, control over impulses and speech. Prior to becoming ill, Tom made significant contributions to society utilizing his interpersonal and organizational skills and speech; the very assets that FTD took away from him. There are currently no treatments or cures for FTD. The glimpses of Tom’s persona that remained left an indelible impression, and I am fortunate to have been a part of his care team.”

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Metro Denver EDC are planning to celebrate Clark’s life on April 8, with additional details to come. 

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