Although Andre Dean has only been with the Chamber since August, it seems he has been preparing for the job for much of his life. Dean, the Chamber’s vice president of public policy and community development, has worked in the logistics field for more than 20 years, and worked on his first political campaign at the age of 12. In his role at the Chamber, Dean advocates for legislation which will benefit members of the Chamber and help the growth of economic development in Greater Memphis. A family man, Dean has three children with his wife Cathy of 19 years and loves to cook when he’s not golfing. He sat down with the Chamber’s Christina Meek recently to talk about his life and role in Memphis.

Q: Where are you from originally? What made you choose to move to Memphis?

A: I came here from Nashville to go to the University of Memphis, and left, and came back a few times. I got married here and we moved to Jackson, Miss. and then Jacksonville, Fla. and came back four years ago. My wife’s family is from here so we always knew kind of that we’d be back because she was not going to live anywhere else. And we’ve enjoyed it since we’ve been back.

Q: Does your job basically mean you’re an advocate for the Chamber’s best interests?

A: Advocacy is the best way to describe it. We can’t have lobbyists per se out of our shop; we’re a non-profit organization, so we can advocate for different things to take effect or form from here. We represent the interest from here and… the interest of the community as a whole. Our big push is to make the Greater Memphis area a place where businesses want to thrive and prosper. We want to do everything in our ability to make sure that happens.

Q: How did you get in this line of work?

A: My previous background is all logistics, but throughout my entire career, I’ve always been associated with people in government, in particular leadership in the city and the county and at state level. It was always an interest of mine since I was a kid. I worked my first campaign at 12 years old in Nashville (when) a guy was running for city council. From that I went to Boys State, which is pretty much a weeklong, military-style education process just purely focused on state and local government. From there I was involved in the student government process at the University of Memphis, and from then on when I graduated from college. So I’ve always been around it. I’ve managed campaigns, I’ve assisted and helped, strategized with different individuals, pushed for individuals to run for public office and I’ve even run for public office myself.

Q: What position?

A: I ran for city council in 1996 when they first created the first super districts: 8 and 9. First time out, I came in 3rd place and I had a pretty good percentage of the votes. It was a fun time and I learned a lot about the people because that was kind of a citywide position for District 8. When this position became available, a few people I know called me and said, “Are you interested?” I had been traveling a lot in my previous job, so it was an opportunity for me to be home and be focused on what’s going on here in Memphis.

Q: How is your job beneficial to Chamber members?

A: Sometimes there are companies that have advocates in Nashville and in Washington. Some bigger companies have them but some of the smaller companies don’t have them. We represent so many industries; again, our membership is broad and diverse. So our role is really making our business climate in (the Memphis area) conducive to growth. It ranges from (weighing in on) legislation out there that regulates how many pieces of property that you can sell that you finance yourself, (and) as big as (saying) if certain legislation is passed, it’s not good for FedEx. The scope is wide. Based on… what they’re trying to pass, we determine what the benefit is for our chamber members.

What we’re working on right now: I’m serving on a committee for the county (on) how (to) increase or expand investment activity around filmmaking, music and the arts. We’re trying to make some headway around that and hopefully we’ll be able to come up with some things we can push from a state and local perspective that will incentivize movie companies to come here and do things in the Greater Memphis area.

Q: Are there specific public policy areas that you focus on like logistics, or is your range broader?

A: My education was in accounting, but the first industry that I worked in happened to be in transportation and logistics. It was with a steamship company, and with this company you utilize three, sometimes four modes or intermodal transport. The company that I worked for were the innovators of the stack trains. I really got interested in the whole industry: how things can move from rail to truck to ship and in reverse. Having a background in finance and then sales and marketing, I got to see the industry from the inside. I have a pretty good knowledge of other industries directly related to transportation and logistics, and this particular market has some very unique attributes that set us apart from any other city in the U.S.

We’re in a really good climate now what we can showcase what we can do. We’ve got a good alignment of leadership from a local standpoint. We’re working with our state leaders. We’ve recently elected a new governor and we’re looking forward to working with him. We should be able to get a few things done locally, the state level and at the federal level with the big projects we’re working on.

Q: How do you juggle a busy work schedule with a big family?

A: I can give a lot of credit to Cathy. She’s been a rock in the household, because I traveled a lot and my kids have grown up right before my eyes. My wife really stepped in and held it all together while I was travelling. (My children) have recently gotten accustomed to me being back… and being involved in a lot of things. The involvement has changed since they’ve gotten older: it’s not as difficult as it used to be. I still drop off and pick up and get involved in activities they get involved with. It’s fun.

Q: What do you do outside of work?

A: I like playing golf. I work out occasionally but … I guess if you ask my friends what gets my juices flowing would probably be cooking. I like to cook when I get a chance. I’m not into pastries; I like home-style cooking, and lately I’ve been dealing with some soups and things like that. No one would know it until they come by the house.