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In this episode, host Mike Miller chats with Karen Branding, president and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Business Council, a collective of leading executives representing many of the largest companies in the metro area. The discussion touches on Branding’s background, the future of downtown St. Louis, her view of the challenges facing the region, and the key initiatives the RBC plans to tackle in 2025 and beyond. Listen and follow The BizSTL Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever podcasts are available.
“The newly redesigned airport is going to be so important. It’s interesting. I was talking to some of my friends about it—this new, single-terminal airport. Two of them said, ‘Oh, isn’t that a shame that the idea of a bigger one didn’t prevail and they’re going to a single one.’ How we choose our words is really important. They interpreted the term ‘single-terminal’ to mean it must be reduced in size, as opposed to doing this comprehensive major terminal where everything will be located in one place, versus having these disconnected terminals that we’re dealing with right now. The airport is definitely going to be a driver for downtown and for more companies to consider St. Louis. It’s not the only thing; it’s not a slam dunk. But it really works against us when we don’t have a world-class airport.”
When Karen Branding was a teenager, she dreamed of becoming a mayor. It wasn’t the pomp and circumstance of the job that aroused her curiosity but the promise of working through big, complex problems—the types of things that aren’t easily solved. Although she long ago freed herself of those political ambitions, Branding’s desire to challenge conventions, shape outcomes, and elevate discourse remains unchanged. After working in corporate communications, among other roles, at local institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Washington University, Anheuser-Busch, and FleishmanHillard, Branding is ready to tackle her biggest challenge yet. As the new president and CEO of the Regional Business Council, it’s up to Branding to marshal St. Louis executives in a quest to present solutions for a variety of the region’s most pressing issues: workforce development, K–12 education, and public safety. “Our vision at the RBC is that everyone deserves a good education, a path to a good career, and a safe neighborhood,“ she says. “Those three things—that vision—inform our strategic priorities.”
You’re a native St. Louisan who understands the problems facing the metro area. Is there anything new you’ve learned about the region in your initial months on the job? One of the things that really stands out to me is that we’re not on the same page. I think that we use jurisdictional fragmentation or geographic fragmentation to explain that. There’s certainly a lot to that. We don’t communicate enough here. We really need to do a better job of helping to get everyone on the same page about the big things in St. Louis. Take crime and public safety, for instance. The statistics are improving, but perceptions cast a long shadow. As leaders, we have to do a better job of helping people understand what’s really happening. It’s one of many things. We need to have a collective vision about our region and how to move it forward.
As a transplant, the fragmentation of the region was the most jarring part of moving here. But even attempting to fix that feels like a daunting task. Where do you start? We need more communication and collaboration. For example, there are a lot of nonprofits working on similar issues. The more coordinated we can be, the more united and collective we can be in our approach to measuring success. We can go farther. One plus one can equal three when we all collaborate.
Are there things we’re doing well that don’t get enough recognition? We’re all concerned about crime and public safety. I think we need a steadier diet of information that helps us understand crime and safety. In the city, for example, crime stats are down. They’re down significantly. Major crime—murder, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, felony theft, auto theft—is down compared to 2023. Burglary is the one outlier, but the point is, it’s getting better. The perceptions are that it’s getting worse, so we have to help people understand that it’s getting better.
What about downtown? Is that getting better? It’s really important for us to see visual signs of big change. We’re certainly seeing that in Chesterfield and Westport, in terms of the reinvention of properties there. But downtown, we need to also see those similar types of big things. Think about how exciting it was when Union Station got redone or when St. Louis CITY SC came in and built that gorgeous new stadium. We need to continue that with the Millennium Hotel and the Railway Exchange Building. I think 2026 will be a big year because Next NGA West will come online. That will be huge. In addition to hearing that things are getting better, people need to see it.
In the meantime, how can organizations such as yours help people see it? One of my favorite Harvard Business Review articles is by a guy named John P. Kotter. It’s called “Why Transformation Efforts Fail.” One is that leaders undercommunicate by a factor of 10. How do you get more people downtown? You tell them things have changed, and you show them things have changed. That creates a sense of urgency to keep things changing.
Are there metro areas that you believe could provide a blueprint for St. Louis’ efforts to fix downtown? Kansas City. What’s happening there, in terms of technology, sports, the new airport—they’ve really got it going on. I think it comes down to them having the right collective vision for their region.
We’re due for a redesigned airport, but it’s going to be a long time before any meaningful work is completed. What do we lose from having a subpar airport? The redesigned airport is going to be so important. It’s interesting; I was talking to some of my friends about this new, single-terminal airport and two of them said, “Isn’t that a shame that the idea for a bigger one didn’t prevail, and they’re just going to go down to a single terminal?” They interpreted the term “single-terminal” to mean that it will be reduced in size, as opposed to what we’re going to do with this comprehensive major terminal. How we choose our words is really important. The redesigned airport will have everything located in one place, versus having these disconnected terminals, which we’re dealing with now. The airport is definitely going to be a driver for downtown and for more companies to consider St. Louis. It’s not the only thing; it’s not a slam dunk. But it really works against us when we don’t have a world-class airport.
Are there other big changes that leaders should focus on in the meantime? One thing that affects all businesses—certainly those downtown—is the whole struggle with return to office. COVID’s behind us in a big way, but these habits are hard to break. Lifestyle changes are hard to shift. But we really need to make the case for getting people back together. You can’t build trust or communication on Zoom or Teams calls… We have to create opportunities for people to get to know us, our character, and how we think about work. It’s not just about the work product that we deliver.
Where is the biggest growth potential for the region? When you think about the assets of St. Louis, we have so much going for us. Think about the great sports we have here, the cultural institutions, the great neighborhoods, and friendly people. Think about how philanthropic we are as a region, the great universities we have, the affordability, and our central location. We have so many assets. We need to use asset-based thinking to ask ourselves: OK, how do we really capitalize on these?
This episode is sponsored by Jingle STL. Looking to elevate your company holiday celebrations? Book your party at JINGLE! at CarShield Field in O’Fallon, Missouri, November 22—December 31. Reserve themed holiday suites for a groups of every size.
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Mike Miller is St. Louis Magazine’s associate editor, covering business, news, and sports, and is the editor of SLM’s Business and CITY SCene newsletters. He previously wrote for publications such as the Bloomington Herald-Times, Vox/SB Nation, Public Opinion, and the Baltimore Sun, and served as an adjunct instructor at Indiana University’s Media School. You can reach him via email at [email protected].
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