Current source roster
City of Tulsa
Chief Economic Development Officer
Observed October 2026
Exact first day and title-change date unresolved. No board membership inferred from employment.
People / Government & civic life
Erran Persley
Chief Economic Development Officer, City of Tulsa
A municipal economic-development official connecting business recruitment with the city’s development partners.
Erran Persley is identified on the City of Tulsa management roster as Chief Economic Development Officer. The same roster also uses Economic Development Director. His appointment announcement described a coordinating role between city government and economic-development partners. These titles identify a City employee; they do not establish that he personally governs those separate organizations.
Career & public service
- 2018
Kentucky work
City biography places his return to Kentucky economic-development work in this year.
- February 27, 2024
Tulsa selection announced
City announces his selection, with a prospective spring start.
- September 20, 2024
Interview on citywide opportunity
Oklahoma Eagle publishes his account of priorities for equitable growth.
- October 2026
Current city role verified
Management roster identifies him as Chief Economic Development Officer.
People, institutions and the relationships between them
Following the connections
Each step below represents a documented relationship. Dates and roles belong to the individual links; a path can span different periods.
personErran Persley
governmentCity of Tulsa
Employment connects Persley to city administration; separate partner organizations retain their own governance.
Documented relationships
1 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.
His stated test for economic development
In the Oklahoma Eagle interview, Persley framed success in terms of residents across Tulsa benefiting from recruitment. He discussed connecting residents to jobs, preparing the workforce, housing and opportunities for local developers. Those statements explain his stated priorities, not demonstrated outcomes. Evaluating them requires subsequent project records, implementation evidence and measures of who received jobs or development opportunities.
Public and private-sector background
The appointment announcement attributes to Persley earlier federal work in international trade, project management, census-data dissemination and foreign investment. It says he returned to Kentucky in 2018 to lead economic-development work and was leaving a managing-partner position at Euphrates International Investment Company in Lexington. It lists an MBA from Georgetown University and a political-science bachelor’s degree from Howard University. These are the City’s biographical statements; they do not establish graduation dates or current private financial interests.
Selection and arrival in Tulsa
The City announced his selection on February 27, 2024 and anticipated a start by the first week of April. A September 2024 Oklahoma Eagle interview describes him as having started in March. The sources therefore distinguish the planned arrival window from later reported service; an exact first day is not established here.
Check the record
Sources & corrections
Research checked 2026-10-07. Roles and financial figures retain their source dates. Sections appear only when supported material is available; an omitted section is not a finding that no such relationship exists.
- City of Tulsa management team ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-07
Current named Chief Economic Development Officer; department list also uses Economic Development Director.
- City announces selection of Erran Persley ↗
primary · Source date 2024-02-27 · Checked 2026-10-07
Selection announcement, anticipated start, attributed career and education; economic totals not adopted.
- Oklahoma Eagle interview with Erran Persley ↗
independent-reporting · Source date 2024-09-20 · Checked 2026-10-07
Kimberly Marsh and Gary Lee; opening chronology and questions on equitable growth. Interview responses are attributed statements.