ST. LOUIS—An important booster for Downtown St. Louis and the region is leaving to take the reigns of a similar organization in Ohio..

Greater St. Louis, Inc. CEO Jason Hall will become CEO at the Columbus Partnership in January.

Hall has led GSL, Inc. for four years, after it was born out of a merger of several other civic organizations looking to boost economic development efforts in the city and the region.

“Our board, staff, and investors are deeply grateful to Jason for his leadership and his nearly 12 years of service to St. Louis and its business community, both with and prior to the formation of GSL,” said GSL Founding Chair and Executive Chairman of Enterprise Mobility Andy Taylor. “Jason was a driving force in creating the GSL vision and enhancing our metro’s ability to compete with a unified voice to drive change and economic growth.”

A Granite City native, Hall is a former director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development in the Nixon administration. 

“The unified leadership of the St. Louis metro’s business community is creating unstoppable momentum and leading my hometown in a bold new direction with growth and opportunity for all. It has been an honor beyond words to be a part of this exciting transformation underway,” Hall said in a statement released by Greater St. Louis, Inc. “I will continue to champion St. Louis reaching its full potential from afar, and I look forward to this next phase in my career in metropolitan civic leadership.”

Greater St. Louis Inc. will begin a national search for Hall’s replacement, with the organization’s Chief Real Estate Investment Officer Dustin Allison taking on an interim role.

Taylor promised that the organization “won’t miss a beat during this transition process,” but Hall’s departure comes at a key time for the city. 

Greater St. Louis, Inc. is backing an aldermanic board bill which would spend $230 million of the city’s NFL settlement on a combination of downtown infrastructure and investment in parts of north St. Louis and southeast St Louis. Hall and GSL have argued that downtown only receives about 5% of citywide expenditures despite generating 20% of the city’s general revenue and 27% of the city’s employment.

The bill was introduced last month by Alderwoman Pam Boyd and is co-sponsored by Alderwoman Cara Spencer, a candidate for Mayor in 2025. It was introduced before the Board of Aldermen completed its public hearings on proposed uses for the NFL funds, angering Board President Megan Green. A competing proposal, supported by Green and Mayor Tishaura Jones, could be introduced as early as this week.

“Jason has been a good friend and a tireless cheerleader for our region for many years, and we will miss him dearly,” said Jones said in a statement. “I wish Jason nothing but the best in his new endeavor, and look forward to our continued partnership with Greater St. Louis, Inc. as they transition to new leadership.”

“I hope this transition leads to continued growth for GSL and success for Mr. Hall in his new role,” Green told Spectrum News Monday. 

“Jason worked hard to help create a unified vision of what the future of this great region should look like, focusing on growing the economy and creating a more welcoming environment for businesses and residents. I wish him the best and am excited to see the momentum of Greater St. Louis continue,” said St. Louis County Executive Sam Page.