CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP ANNOUNCES HIRING OF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
AUGUST 10, 2021 - ROCK HILL, SC - The Gravity Center, the hub for entrepreneurialism in York County, announced today the hiring of its Executive Officer (“XO”), Hannah Horne.
Horne joins the Gravity Center after seven years with the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, where she served as the Vice President of Public Policy and Programs. There, Horne worked the front lines of small business growth, entrepreneurship, and resilience from COVID’s economic impacts in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Horne brings expert communications skills from her nearly two decades in television news, as well as insightful business acumen.
The XO position is a unique partnership between the Gravity Center, the City of Rock Hill and the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation (RHEDC). Horne will start her post on September 7, 2021 and serve as the lead of operations and programming for the Center.
“We are over the moon to welcome Hannah to the Gravity Center,” says David Copp Stringer, board president. “She will bring an incredible mix of local business engagement as well as visibility to our work here in York County on a State level.”
“The opportunity to work with this incredible board and the economic development team is an honor. On day one, I promise to bring my tireless work ethic and passion for small business growth and entrepreneurship in all I do. The excitement, growth and innovation happening in Rock Hill is right where I want to be.”
Horne earned her MBA from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business with a concentration in International Business. She also holds a degree in Journalism from the University of South Alabama, in her hometown of Mobile. Horne has worked in five Southeast television markets, including 13 years in Columbia, South Carolina, at WIS-TV as the morning news anchor.
After receiving her MBA, Horne transitioned her career to three-time National Chamber of the Year, the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, as the Vice President of Public Policy and Programs. In her role, she has advocated a pro-business agenda on the local, state, and federal level. She also hosts the Define The Journey podcast for the SC Department of Commerce, promoting education and jobs in the state’s critical workforce areas to high school students.
“Hannah’s expertise in fostering small businesses and networking around the State will create a huge boost to our entrepreneurial ecosystem,” says Ryan Sanderson, board executive. “We now have our champion to collaborate and bring together York County’s entrepreneurs into one place.”
The Gravity Center is a hub for entrepreneurial collaboration and development in York County. The services of the center will focus on providing space, incubation, mentorship and program support for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs. The Gravity Center is located at 153 South Oakland Ave, Rock Hill, SC, and anchored by companies that include Insignia Group and the corporate offices of Knowledge Perk.
David Copp Stringer, Ryan Sanderson, Doug Meyer-Cuno, Tadean Page, Mike Ziemke, Dawn Johnson, Samantha Kriegshauser, Mike Geddings, Robert Alexander, and Charles Lindsey McAlpine serve on the Gravity Center’s ten-member board of directors.
Visit the GRAVITY CENTER website at www.mygravitycenter.com for more information.