In October, the city of Colleyville hired Mark Wood to serve as the executive director of economic development and communications.

In his role, Wood leads the city’s economic development efforts and oversees the city’s communications strategy.

Wood, who grew up in Arlington, received his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and obtained a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Texas. After he graduated, Wood worked in the private sector in public relations and marketing for several companies.

Wood was hired by the town of Flower Mound 10 years ago, and he has served in three positions during his tenure with the town: communication specialist, assistant to the town manager and director of economic development.

Wood spent the past five years serving as Flower Mound’s director of economic development. During his time as director, the town saw more than 5,000 jobs created and more than 3 million square feet of new commercial space built.

Wood resides in Flower Mound with his wife, Amanda, and their three sons.

What attracted you to Colleyville?

Being from North Texas, I know the city. I also know it’s a great place to live because my sister and brother-in-law live here. It’s right in the heart of North Texas and near the airport, which makes it a great location. Also, the opportunity to come in and kind of expand my role and use my background—communications and economic development—was attractive. Also, the opportunity to work under the leadership of Jennifer [Fadden], the city manager, was appealing. I knew Jennifer through our professional organization and we both have our master’s from UNT.

What are some of the things you hope to accomplish during your first year?

I think at first it’s getting my head around what is happening development-wise and how I can positively affect additional commercial development in Colleyville. Certainly managing the [impact of the SH] 26 project and keeping businesses informed and in the loop to help them through that project is going to be a challenge I look forward to. Also part of that commercial development aspect is the retention effort so [I look forward to] not only attracting new businesses but helping to keep existing businesses here thriving. I look forward to working with the communications staff to see what we can do to enhance communication with businesses and residents, increase community involvement and keep residents informed on what’s going in their city.

What are some of the challenges that you see?

I see the State Highway 26 project as the biggest challenge. I think at the end of the day it will be a great project for the city as it’ll increase traffic capacity and mobility, but during that time there’s going to be growing pains—there’s no question about that. It’s going to create potential traffic issues and slowdowns, especially during the nonpeak hours; so managing our way through, communicating our way through—that is going to be our biggest challenge.

I think another challenge is developing the green field sites that Colleyville has left into something that the residents want and need. There’s a few key tracts left that need to be done right the first time. An example is the Northern Gateway, which is by John McCain [Road] and [SH] 26. That area needs to be done right with top-quality uses, so that’s going to be a top priority.

What is your plan to get businesses along SH 26 during construction?

Even with construction, Colleyville has a great story to tell, there’s no question about that—the demographics are great for retail and restaurants, the incomes are high, [the people are] well-educated and there’s a lot of traffic on [SH] 26 that drives through every day. That’s very appealing to retailers and restaurants. I think one of our biggest challenges is telling the story of why they should be in Colleyville and not one of our surrounding communities. I think Colleyville has a niche with unique retailers and restaurants, and one-of-a-kind or first-in-the-market opportunities, so I think capitalizing on that will be something that we look at doing.

Where do you see Colleyville in 10 years?

I think Colleyville will continue to be a great place to live and a great place to raise a family. I think part of that is providing amenities, such as retailers and restaurants that are desirable to residents, so not only can residents shop locally, dine locally but they don’t have to drive far away and at the same time it also increases sale tax revenue. I think it’s going to continue to be one of the top-tier suburbs in the DFW area.