Who We Are

Doug Kurkul
President & CEO

Doug Kurkul has enjoyed a 25-year career as a leader and advocate for American business. He became President and CEO of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Partnership in November 2010.

Doug was CEO of the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce, the second largest Chamber in Nevada, from 2007-2010. Under his leadership, the Chamber revitalized its policy advocacy, events and communications programs. New member recruitment and major event attendance rose 100 percent. Doug served on the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada and the District Export Council for Nevada during those years.

From 2002-2007, Doug was Vice President for Member Communications and Marketing for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), which Fortune called one of the nation’s 10 most influential advocacy groups. Doug spearheaded marketing and communications that drove $26 million in revenue, while member retention rose from 74 to 88 percent. He led the NAM’s widely recognized efforts in Internet communications and podcasting, oversaw CoolStuffBeingMade.com, published Leadership for Manufacturers magazine, and edited the award winning book Manufacturing in America: A Legacy of Excellence. He spent 21 years with the NAM in various capacities and participated in dozens of advocacy meetings with lawmakers.

Doug began his career as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Small Business Administration and as a Reagan political appointee at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Doug has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from The American University and a B.A. in Business and Political Science with a minor in Marketing from Ashland University in Ohio. He is a graduate of the “Foundations of Leadership” program at Duke University’s Center for Creative Leadership; and the Texas Economic Development Council’s basic economic development program. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the John Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs and the Commerce Department’s District Export Council in Texas. He is married to Dr. Wen Wang Kurkul.

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Ben White
Vice President, Economic Development

Ben White is the Vice President of Economic Development for the Round Rock Chamber and Economic Development Partnership. 

From 2008 -2011, Ben was the Director of Economic Development for the City of Rowlett, Texas. While in Rowlett, Ben was part of a management team that announced a $500 million mixed use lake front development.  This development is scheduled to break ground in 2011.  He also started a business retention and expansion program, hosted events for the development community, and developed a marketing plan for the community.

From 2000-2008, Ben worked for the Greenville, Texas Board of Development.  He began his career as the Projects Manager and was elevated to Executive Director in 2006.  He was responsible for pursuing business development and establishing relationships with industries, businesses and developers. He also worked as a liaison with government leaders, conducted research, assembled data, and created presentations promoting Greenville as a choice location for corporations.

White is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a B.S. in Business Administration. He also completed his Basic Economic Development Course by the Texas Engineering Extension Service from the Texas A&M University System

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Carrie Yeats
Director of Research, Marketing and Business Attraction

In her role as Director of Research, Marketing and Business Attraction, Carrie provides leadership in establishing and implementing effective economic development branding and marketing for Round Rock, providing research and analysis that advance Round Rock’s economic development success, and proactively marketing to select companies in targeted industries regarding locating in Round Rock.

Prior to joining the Chamber and Economic Development Partnership, Carrie served as Vice President of Economic Development at AngelouEconomics, a site selection, and economic development consultancy, where she focused on strategic operations, project management and business development.  Her clients included the states of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Delaware as well as cities and counties in Florida, Kansas, Ohio, California, and Texas.

Prior to joining AE, Carrie was the Assistant Director of the Industrial Development Authority of Chambers County, Alabama, where she implemented the organization’s business development initiatives. Carrie also held the position of Project Coordinator at Lubbock Economic Development Alliance where she oversaw and implemented activities in multiple program areas, including recruitment, workforce development, and the bioscience initiative.

Carrie holds a master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree from Baylor University.

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