Washington, D.C. — In a business landscape shaped by geopolitical realignment and uncertainty, EDGE Partners (EDGE) is emerging as the go-to commercial execution platform for Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) across the United States. Built by a team of former U.S. government officials, diplomats and economic development executives, EDGE is redefining how EDOs attract foreign direct investment (FDI), generate qualified leads, and promote exports.
As U.S. regions face shrinking federal investment services, fewer overseas officers, and intensifying global competition, EDOs are being asked to deliver record results with fewer tools.
“We’re not a consultancy firm. We’re a transactional firm built by EDO’s for EDOs,” said Jasjit Singh, CEO of EDGE and former Executive Director of SelectUSA. “When state and local teams are expected to do more with less, EDGE gives them embedded capacity and global reach on demand. We understand the pain of EDO’s as they struggle with staffing, funding and other resources. Formerly, reliance on commercial officers and Embassies was the norm, but with over 1/3 of all foreign commercial officers leaving government and the downsizing of embassies, the relationships and knowledge base has diminished,” said Singh.
Solving the FDI Gap
EDGE redeploys this elite talent to deliver the very services EDOs used to rely on from federal agencies—only now faster, leaner, and built for execution. EDGE provides:
- FDI Lead Generation – Qualified introductions from key source markets like, East Asia, India, Europe, LATAM, and the Gulf
- Trade Mission Design – End-to-end planning and execution across high-impact sectors
- Export Promotion Support – Helping local firms expand their global footprint
- In-Country Representation – Deploying trusted EDGE advisors in priority markets
- EDGE Intelligence Platform™ – SaaS dashboards to consolidate and score regional economic data Private Equity– EDGE assists in due diligence and finding capital for deals.
“We’re augmenting EDOs with real-time market intelligence and trusted boots on the ground. Our team has worked across 80+ countries. We know the playbook because we wrote it in government—and we know the players,” said Bill Burwell, Co-Founder EDGE.
Meet Our Team
EDGE is led by a distinguished team of senior leaders and advisors with deep experience across federal commerce, global investment, and data innovation:
Advisory Board and Leadership:
- Jasjit Singh – Founder & CEO, EDGE | Former Executive Director, SelectUSA
- Bill Burwell – Co-Founder, EDGE | Former Deputy Executive Director, SelectUSA
- Don Graves – Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce
- Alejandra Castillo – Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Administration
- Kenny McDonald – Former President & CEO, One Columbus | Past Chair, IEDC
- Gary Sumihiro – Chief Operating Officer, EDGE | Founder, Sumihiro Investments
- Chris Medina — Chief Technology Officer, EDGE| Founder, nureal.ai
- Matthew Geason — Director, Investment Services, EDGE | Former SelectUSA Portfolio Manager
Senior Advisors:
- Yamilee Bastien — Former U.S. diplomat holding key posts in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia.
- Matt Gaisford — Former U.S. government trade and policy expert on North American trade frameworks.
- Ian Hopper – Former U.S. diplomat holding key posts in Canada, Iraq, Germany, India, Philippines and Jordan.
- Sandeep Maini — Former U.S. Commercial Service in India with extensive experience supporting U.S.–India commercial engagement.
- Ricardo Peláez — Former U.S. diplomat holding key posts at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, and in Spain, Peru, China and Taiwan.
- Christopher Quinlivan — Former U.S. diplomat holding key posts in Southeast Asia, Canada, China, and Europe.
- Christina Sharkey — Former U.S. diplomat holding key posts in Czech Republic, Germany, Egypt and China.
- Betsy Shieh — Former U.S. diplomat holding key posts in Taiwan, China and Southeast Asia.
See You at SelectUSA 2026
EDGE will be an official participant at the SelectUSA Investment Summit (May 3–6, 2026) and other leading forums, showcasing its platform to help U.S. regions compete and win in global investment markets. If your organization wants high value, qualified leads in advance of conferences, contact us.
About EDGE
EDGE is a global execution firm supporting economic development and global expansion. Founded by former U.S. diplomats and senior trade and investment officials, the firm brings deep government insight, commercial transaction expertise, and trusted relationships across international, federal, state, and local levels.
Visit: www.edgepartners.us | Contact: info@edgepartners.us