Susanne Knutsen, EDFP

Economic Development Manager
City of Davenport
Davenport, IA

Susanne Knutsen has been acting as a business concierge for the past 13 years at the City of Davenport, Iowa. As the Economic Development Manager for a city of 100,000 and a metro region of 400,000+, she interacts with projects of all sizes ranging from owner operated small businesses to large scale manufacturing expansions.

A former park ranger with a Master’s degree in forestry specializing in economics and marketing, Susanne has continued to expand her skill set and has earned the International Economic Development Council’s: Certified Economic Developer title and the National Development Council’s: Economic Development Finance Professional certification.

Economic development is truly a team sport, working side by side with Greater Davenport Redevelopment Corporation, Eastern IA Community College, Quad Cities First, local utilities and the State of Iowa; the City of Davenport has been able to launch Davenport as the place to expand businesses and find quality workforce.

Over the past 13 years, Susanne has worked of projects totaling one billion dollars in private investment into Davenport. This has translated in over 5,000 jobs created and retained for the Quad Cities. Recent successes include new state of the art manufacturing facilities by Kraft Heinz (380,000 square feet) and Sterilite Corporation (2.4 million square feet).