David McAleese

David McAleese is the Research Director at BE NKY Growth Partnership (BE NKY).

In this role, he is responsible for conducting industry, labor market, and economic research while helping to expand data management and visualization capabilities for BE NKY and its economic development operations.

He provides the company with data support, analyzing and interpreting trends in demographics, economics, real estate, and business so BE NKY staff are equipped with the latest information to assist clients and communities.

He also maintains important relationships with REDI Cincinnati, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, partner organizations, local communities, and external firms.  In this role he has been able to marry his interests in location analysis, the built environment, and corporate site selection motivators to help grow the region’s economy.

Prior to joining BE NKY, David spent 16+ years at Macy’s Inc. in roles of increasing responsibility on the Area Research team.

He led market planning efforts to guide the company’s store optimization strategy and conducted broader research aimed at assessing the demographic, competitive, and economic factors that influence store and digital sales performance.

In his last five years at Macy’s Inc., David served as Senior Director, Area Research, where he led a team of analysts responsible for site selection and sales forecasting for the company’s small store formats.  Working cross-functionally, this effort facilitated the rollout of new store concepts for the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s banners.

He is a graduate of Binghamton University (SUNY), where he earned a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Geography, with a concentration in Urban and Retail Planning.

He was also a 2014 graduate from the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s C-Change Class 9 leadership development program and most recently completed Encounter NKY in Spring 2023.

He lives in Cincinnati and enjoys exploring new places, reading, and the occasional bike ride around the region.