Laura N. Brunner

Laura Brunner is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority (The Port), an economic development agency based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more than a decade, Laura has led The Port with her impassioned efforts to fix broken real estate in order to reduce wealth disparities, increase homeownership, and grow manufacturing jobs.
Throughout her career, Brunner has consistently challenged the status quo and leaned into risk. When at developer Al. Neyer, the opportunity arose to transform the Vernon Manor into offices. Laura saw an opportunity for minority investors to own a majority interest in the project. She was successful in making that a reality, and now over 700 employees of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital work in the redeveloped hotel.

Brunner gained national recognition in 2022 when she led the unprecedented effort to acquire 194 single-family homes from an out-of-town investor to keep the American dream of home ownership alive for many Cincinnatians. She also blazed new trails in sustainable investing when The Port issued $11 million in social impact bonds for the creation of advanced manufacturing jobs.