1.30.20 – Steve Heacock

Steve Heacock is a business and community leader whose career has included executive management, legal and accounting practice, community building, civic engagement and public service.

He is President/CEO of Grand Rapids Whitewater, which is restoring the namesake rapids to the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids.

Steve has played a key role in many of the developme nts that have led to the economic revitalization of downtown Grand Rapids.

• As a member of the Executive Committee and counsel for Grand Action, Steve was involved in the planning and construction of Van Andel Arena, a venue that has attracted more than $150 million of commercial and retail investment and has become one of the highest grossing arenas in the world for its size.
• As chairman of the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention and Arena Authority, Steve led the $220 million expansion of the downtown convention center and the creation of DeVos Place, a community nucleus for everything from high school proms to the International Wine, Beer and Food Festival.
• As chairman of the Kent County Board of Commissioners, Steve led the creation and development of Millennium Park, a 1,500 acre urban park that was created out of wasteland.As chief administration officer of Van Andel Institute, a Grand Rapids-based biomedical research organization, Steve oversaw the planning and construction of Phase II, a $178 million, 240,000 square-foot, LEED Platinum-certified expansion.
• As the facilitator of a West Michigan stakeholder committee, Steve created the framework for the development and relocation of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine to downtown Grand Rapids.

Before taking on the whitewater project, Steve was Senior Vice President of Public Affairs/Research at Spectrum Health and President, Spectrum Health Innovations.  Prior to joining Spectrum Health in 2011, Steve was CAO of the Van Andel Institute, VP development and general counsel for Priority Health in Grand Rapids, a partner at Warner Norcross & Judd and a CPA with Price Waterhouse in Detroit.  He earned his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and Juris Doctor from University of Michigan Law School.

Steve chairs the boards of the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority | Van Andel Arena and Legacy Trust and serves on the board of directors for United Bank of Michigan.  He recently completed six years of service on the board of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority.