A tribute to the life and legacy of our colleague Robb Zerr
Last month, the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness (OEDC) experienced a tremendous loss with the passing of our colleague, Robb Zerr. At his death, Robb was the managing director of OEDC’s Rural and Marketing Services at the Washington State Department of Commerce.
The words that define his role don’t adequately describe his legacy with this organization nor the impact he had on economic development in Washington State. Since his first day with the agency back in 2012, Robb brought his A-game to work every day, which was his unique, sometimes quirky, always creative style. He cultivated a dynamic presence for OEDC that was plain-spoken and aimed directly at entrepreneurs and business leaders to strengthen communities across Washington.
“Commerce strengthens communities,” said Grace Yoo, OEDC’s assistant director. “Our team leads economic development to help fulfill this mission. When I started at Commerce, Robb helped show the impact of OEDC’s work at the local level. He understood that nurturing a sustainable economy goes hand-in-hand with creating the right conditions for growth by investing in our communities–small and large, rural and urban. It was Robb’s passion to champion training and consulting for our entrepreneurs, as well as grant and loan programs for our hardworking small businesses. With his creativity and eye for design, Robb also helped promote Washington and our innovative businesses around the world at trade shows and conferences. He knew that it was our collective work, together, that would build a resilient, diversified economy that serves future generations for many years to come.”
The ambassador for Washington culture
First and foremost, Robb was an entrepreneur and a businessman…and a pirate. In his early adulthood, he stumbled upon the Seafair Pirates, a group that ruled over the annual Seafair celebration. As a pirate, Robb was known as “Hurricane,” a name that well-suited him. He later went on to form two other pirate performance troupes until he independently visited community festivals, preferring those events over parades. Raised in Renton just down the street from Boeing, these experiences transformed Robb into an ambassador for all things Washington. Robb understood how local cultural events honored key points in Washington’s history and reflected our state’s singular personality.
Robb made his tricorne hat look good while brandishing a swashbuckler’s sword for little and big kids lining parade routes at Seafair and other community festivals. Over time, he became a champion of Washington’s innovative, indominable spirit.
“I always loved telling people my boss was a pirate,” said Lynn Longan, manager of OEDC’s Small Business Training and Education Center. “It was his brand of swagger that made him able to transform an idea into action. During the COVID pandemic, Robb and I strategized endlessly, looking for ways to help those businesses that had to close their doors. At the time, they needed a way to get their ideas to work, immediately, despite social distancing. From our discussions, we transformed mystartup365.com into a virtual Small Business Training and Education Center. We pulled the team together and started developing the on-demand entrepreneur academies that are a very important part of small business ecosystem. It was so impactful and fueled economic development when that specific, hands-on help was needed the most.”
Robb’s entire focus at commerce was rooted in the understanding that for nearly 150 years, Washington State has built a global reputation as a place where legendary businesses take root and flourish. From world-famous brands to game-changing products and services, Washington businesses carved their rightful place in history due to their creativity, tenacity, vision and drive for bringing innovation to market.
When he began at Commerce, Robb brought with him a depth and breadth of expertise in marketing and communication across an array of industries. For more than two decades prior to his work as a public servant, Robb co-owned a marketing firm, Communicreations. It was the expertise of meeting the unique needs of business clients over many years that others credit as pivotal for marketing OEDC programs.
“Robb was one of the smartest people I ever knew,” said Maury Forman, regarded economic development leader, author, cartoonist and a former colleague of Robb’s at Commerce. “He was creative, had a great sense of humor, and never took himself too seriously. He understood that economic development was about fostering an environment that strengthened communities so that job creation can take place. He was integral to our work as economic developers.”
Choose Washington State
When he arrived at Commerce Robb went to work innovating Washington’s economic development communication platforms so that they expressed key strengths, identified key industries, and attracted both outside investment and business growth within Washington State. Robb and his team (Alexander Harper) soon launched Choose Washington State, a strategy that included a creative campaign and website that spoke the language of business for those looking to start or relocate their enterprise to Washington.
“Over the past decade, Robb has been more than a colleague—he’s been a storyteller, a visionary, and a dear friend,” said Alex Harper, OEDC’s brand and creative manager. “His boundless creativity and entrepreneurial spirit not only enriched my life but also helped shape the narrative of Washington State in ways only he could. I’ll forever cherish his out-of-the-box thinking, his profound words, and the legacy he leaves behind. I’m deeply grateful for his impact on my life and the indelible mark he’s left on our work.”
Colleagues remember Robb’s heart of service, his empathy and understanding of business in Washington. “Robb made the absolute most of our valuable budget dollars in campaign creation and deployment,” said Keith Swenson, deputy assistant director for OEDC. “He shined the most during the pandemic, as a fierce advocate for the innovation-maker community. He knew it was an outing on Lake Washington that led to finding a headquarters for Boeing and it was an entrepreneur working in his garage that launched Microsoft. He helped express that throughout history Washington State has always been ready for the Next Big Thing.”
Robb’s leadership and influence ensures we are poised to chart our course and successfully navigate the future of economic development in Washington State. While we are all mourning our friend and colleague, we know Robb taught us how to look forward and keep an eye out for the Next Big Thing. He taught us that when we create the right conditions, we can set our sails wherever we want to go.
His indominable spirit leaves an enduring legacy within OEDC and the Washington State Department of Commerce. On National Pirate Day, we will all raise our grog cup and end our sentences in “arggh” in his memory. We offer our condolences to his beloved wife, his children, special friends and his many loved ones who were long-time members of his ship and crew.
Fair winds and following seas,
May forever you feel, upon your cheek, the salty breeze.
Your spirit lives on in many a heart, your words captured, and never to depart.
May your loved ones have the comfort in knowing, to heaven is where you are going.
For all that they have to do is look above, and they will be reminded of your love.