Rob Walsh
President
In October 2022, Rob Walsh was appointed as President of The Bronx Economic Development Corporation. He is currently at the forefront of building out the capacity of the BXEDC, as well as creating programs and using the resources at hand to serve the Small Business community in The Bronx, with a focus on getting capital access to Small Businesses. BXEDC is also focused on achieving constant economic growth and stability.
In 2018, Rob Walsh was appointed as senior advisor to the Manhattan College president. Working with the leadership team, Walsh was charged with forging strategic partnerships with key New York organizations and institutions including foundations, cultural institutions, non-profits, government agencies, major corporations, and start-up companies.
Walsh’s radio segment, The Bottom Line for Small Business airs on 1010 WINS Radio where he is also the moderator of the Small Business Challenge which recognizes the work of entrepreneurs in the New York metropolitan area.
Walsh has taught various courses at Columbia University, in the School of Public and International Affairs. As well as serving from 2014-2018 on the faculty at Baruch College’s School of Public and International Affairs, where he has also served as the faculty director of the executive master’s degree in public administration program.
In January 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Walsh the commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services (SBS). During his 12 years there, SBS became one of the city’s most innovative agencies in serving the needs of its 200,000 small businesses. Walsh re-energized the city’s business improvement districts and created an award-winning neighborhood leadership program in partnership with the Coro Foundation.
Under his leadership, seven NYC Business Solutions Centers were established that secured more than $200 million for small businesses in the last six years of his tenure. He created a wide array of entrepreneurial courses and forged new partnerships with groups, including the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, Interise, and the Kauffman Foundation.
Prior to serving in the Bloomberg administration, Walsh served as president of Charlotte (N.C.) Center City Partners. He led the Center City master plan initiative that led to significant private and public investments. He also attracted Johnson & Wales University to the Center City.
From 1989 to April 1997, he played an instrumental role in the revitalization of one of New York’s great neighborhoods, as executive director of the Union Square Partnership. During the 1980s, he worked in the administration of Mayor Edward I. Koch. He began his career in public service as a New York City Urban Fellow, a program he later directed.
Walsh holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in public affairs from Fordham University. He also participated in the senior executives in state and local government program at the Harvard Kennedy School.