Mark Zannoni, Board President

The Center for Cleveland’s strategy and thought leadership are developed and driven by Mark Zannoni, a visionary, global, and multi-disciplinary expert on Cleveland, with deep insight on urban development, urban planning, transportation, economic development, and the digital transformation of cities. In addition to a long history of working to promote Cleveland on the world stage, he possesses insight and perspective built on 25 years of global experience in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and across the United States, working on urban and urban transportation issues and economic development.

Mark is a global thought leader on a broad range of urban and transportation issues and technological and policy solutions; he is also a certified urban planner and expert on technology innovation in the civic space and understands the new challenges and issues that technology may bring (e.g., on privacy or other market or social issues). At Oracle, he leads the firm’s global smart city strategy. In previous roles, as a consultant with Booz Allen and other firms including his own consultancy, he has advised a broad range of cities, transportation agencies, national governments, bilateral/multilateral organizations, and leading technology companies on a wide range of engagements worldwide.

In addition to his global urban expertise, Mark possesses a profound depth of knowledge, insight, and passion for Cleveland. A native Clevelander, he is a life-long booster of the City with extensive knowledge on the City’s history, assets, issues, and potential, and has worked in numerous ways throughout his life to improve and promote the city, including the production of various Cleveland-focused publications. 

Mark serves on a number of civic-focused boards and committees, including the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, and he is Board President of the Columbia Alumni Association of Cleveland. He holds a Masters of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Boston University.