The Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership has been selected by Site Selection Magazine as the recipient of the 2025 Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development, the most prestigious award given to economic development organizations.
The Fort Worth partnership is one of 20 economic development organizations across the country to win the award.
Area leaders were pleased to see the honor — given that the partnership was only created two years ago.
“This recognition is the latest example of why we created the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership — to bring high quality projects to our city,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker in a statement.
The Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership was formed out of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce in April 2023 as a 501(c)(6) organization, to lead business recruitment and attraction for the city. Previously, the chamber had led economic development efforts. Robert Allen, a former top staffer of Gov. Greg Abbott before becoming president and CEO of the Austin-based Texas Economic Development Corporation, was named to lead the new effort.
Since its formation in 2023, the partnership has secured several economic development projects in Fort Worth, including a $630 million investment from Bell to manufacture the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, a $190 million investment in a new tech manufacturing facility for Siemens, and a $70 million capital investment from Embraer in a facility at AllianceTexas.
“This is a testament to — not only our team and their hard work — but it’s also testament, frankly, to the leaders that came up with this concept and decided to go this direction,” said Allen. “That vision deserves to be rewarded here. This honor is proof that people are noticing that Fort Worth is the place to do business.”
The award is named for Conway Data and Site Selection founder H. McKinley “Mac” Conway, a pioneer in the field of economic development. The award recognizes the efforts of those who achieve results in bringing economic projects to their communities.
Winning organizations are determined by an index that is balanced one-third each across Conway Data/Site Selection corporate facility project, investment and jobs numbers across the country (cumulative and per capita); the nationwide 2025 Milken Institute Best Performing Cities Index; and the nationwide 2025 Most Dynamic Cities report from Heartland Forward.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected]. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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