Greenville businesswoman named first female Chair of Site Selectors Guild

Didi Caldwell, founding principal of Global Location Strategies (GLS), has been elected the Chairwoman of the Board of the Site Selectors Guild (SSG), the association of the world’s foremost professional site selection consultants. It is the first time a female has served at the helm of the organization. This is Caldwell’s fourth consecutive year serving on the board, having previously served as treasurer.

“Didi is a consummate professional and an absolute pleasure to work with,” said SSG outgoing Chairman Mark Williams. “I am grateful to leave the Site Selectors Guild in such competent hands.”

Caldwell has 20 years of experience as a site selection professional. After earning her International MBA in 1998, she joined global engineering and construction firm Fluor as a site selection consultant. For 10 years she provided location advisory services for capital-, labor- and resource-intensive manufacturers before opening her own consultancy in 2008. Today, she and her nine-person team at GLS remain rooted in those same core competencies predominantly for Since 2012, GLS has supported both domestic capital investment and foreign direct investment projects valued at $5.6 billion and creating 5,300 jobs.

As Board Chair of SSG, Caldwell is responsible for leading the board in its mission to advance the profession of corporate location strategy by:

• Raising the awareness of the value professional location strategy and site selection services create for corporations
• Sharing thought leadership and best practices
• Developing and nurturing relationships between Site Selectors Guild members, economic development organizations and corporate stakeholders
• Contributing to policy discussions that affect location strategy and the future of our profession

“The Site Selectors Guild is the only association of its kind to advance the site selection profession and assist economic development organizations as a collective whole,” explains Caldwell. “I believe in its vision that every corporate location decision is guided by an experienced location strategy professional and I look forward to working closely with the board, staff and members this year to keep the organization constantly striving for professional excellence.”

Caldwell has a B.S. in Architecture from Clemson University and an International MBA from the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. She is a frequent speaker at manufacturing and economic development conferences throughout the United States and is often quoted as an expert source in national and regional news regarding site selection issues.

About Global Location Strategies

Established in 1974, Global Location Strategies (GLS) is one of the world’s most experienced and reputable site selection firms specializing in capital-, labor-, and resource-intensive facilities. With services that span the globe, GLS has conducted site searches in more than 50 countries for companies with particular concentration in pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, chemical/petrochemicals, metals/polymers/composites, paper, and automotive. The company offers a full suite of site selection services, including location benchmarking, site selection, incentive negotiation, technical site due diligence, and alignment and training. Economic development services include industrial site audits, site competitiveness studies, strategic site identification and industrial asset optimization. GLS is headquartered in Greenville, S.C. For more information, visit www.GlobalLocationStrategies.com.