Rebecca Lovell Steps In: How Greater Seattle Partners Is Shaping Seattle’s Next Chapter

By Linda Lowry, Social in Seattle

When you sit down with Rebecca Lovell, Greater Seattle Partners’ newly appointed interim CEO, you immediately feel the steadiness and spark she brings to the role. She leads with clarity, humility, and momentum, the kind of presence that signals both respect for the work and excitement for what’s ahead.

Greater Seattle Partners (GSP), the publicprivate organization driving regional competitiveness across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, was created to give Seattle a unified voice on the global stage. Today, that voice is evolving, and Rebecca is guiding the transition with intention. Her approach is grounded in transparency and continuity. There’s no artificial timeline for the permanent CEO search; instead, she’s focused on keeping the team aligned, keeping the work moving, and telling the region’s story with honesty and ambition.

Under her leadership, GSP is doubling down on the programs that define the region’s global footprint. SelectUSA Spinoff is expanding in 2026, offering international companies a firsthand look at the region’s innovation ecosystem. The Export Accelerator continues to help local entrepreneurs grow their export revenues, with four cohorts already completed. New initiatives like the Business Landing Program and the Site Selector Program are strengthening the region’s ability to attract and support companies long after they choose Seattle as home. These efforts aren’t just economic development; they’re relationship building and narrative shaping.

GSP’s global engagement work remains equally vital. The organization leads or participates in international missions, including a delegation to India, and hosts dozens of visiting groups each year. These exchanges translate into foreign direct investment, job creation, and longterm partnerships. And woven through all of it is a belief that storytelling is strategy. The Uncommon Thinkers Awards celebrates leaders who embody innovation and community, while the Innovate State Project maps the region’s interconnected innovation ecosystem in a way that helps the world understand why Seattle consistently punches above its weight.

To bring readers closer to the heart of this work, I asked Rebecca a few key questions about her leadership and the region’s future.

SMB: What guiding principles are shaping your leadership during this interim period?Rebecca: Transparency, integrity, and momentum. I want the team and our partners to feel confident that the work continues with clarity and purpose.

SMB: What are your top priorities for the next 12 months?

Rebecca: Team alignment is essential; we’re making a key hire that will strengthen our capacity. We’re also continuing our signature programs, expanding SelectUSA, and launching new initiatives like the business landing and site selector programs.

SMB: Seattle’s innovation ecosystem is often described as collaborative. What makes it so unique?

Rebecca: It’s the convergence of sectors, biotech, aerospace, AI, clean energy, and the culture of partnership that binds them. Investors syndicate deals, founders share resources, and publicprivate collaboration is part of our DNA.

SMB: How does GSP work with other regional organizations?

Rebecca: Our funding is nearly evenly split between public and private partners. We work closely with Challenge Seattle, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber, and regional economic developers. Roles are clear, communication is consistent, and the mission is shared.

SMB: What excites you most about the work ahead?

Rebecca: The opportunity to tell Seattle’s story with honesty and ambition. We have so much to celebrate, and so much potential to unlock.

In the coming weeks, GSP will share additional data, images, and materials to support upcoming features and social storytelling. What’s already clear is that the CEO search will remain transparent, signature programs will continue to grow, new initiatives will launch with entrepreneurial energy, and storytelling will stay at the center of the mission. What stays with you after talking with Rebecca is her belief in the collective. Seattle’s strength has always come from its people, its innovators, its builders, its dreamers, its doers. GSP is helping the world see that clearly. Seattle is rising. And with leaders like Rebecca Lovell guiding the narrative, the world is paying attention.