Senior Vice President, Research and Innovation

Duane Dankesreiter is Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation at the Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC), which has been recognized as the National Chamber of the Year. 

Dankesreiter oversees the research team which is responsible for creating research products that support the DRC’s strategic focus areas. He also leads the DRC’s activities around the launch and growth of innovation in DFW by connecting entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, and the business community.

Dankesreiter co-founded Dallas Innovates, the DRC’s online and print publication covering innovation across Dallas-Fort Worth, was part of a community effort to launch Venture Dallas, an organization focused on connecting venture capital to startups in Dallas-Fort Worth, and in 2013, he and his team won the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) grand prize. The prize recognized the DRC’s Economic Development Guide as the best chamber publication in the nation. 

Dankesreiter joined the DRC in August 2009. He previously led demographic and economic data research efforts at the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) for 14 years. 

He serves on numerous boards, including the DEC Network (formerly the Dallas Entrepreneur Center), Vice President of the Cedar Hill Economic Development Board, and Treasurer of the Southern Dallas Inland Port Transportation Association Board. In January 2021, he was appointed to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 

He holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from Texas A&M University and a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from the University of Texas at Dallas.