Ben Guttmann

Ben Guttmann is Executive Director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC), where he leads a team that supports thousands of entrepreneurs each year and relentlessly champions the diverse Queens economy.

Prior to QEDC, Ben was a marketing executive, business educator, and advisor. Over the course of a decade, Ben co-founded, built, and eventually sold Digital Natives Group, an award-winning marketing agency headquartered in Long Island City. A pioneering firm in Western Queens’ booming tech and creative industry, Digital Natives Group worked with clients including the NFL, I Love NY, Comcast NBCUniversal, Grand Central Terminal, Hachette Book Group, The Nature Conservancy, and other major brands. In addition to recognition from the Webby's, Shorty's, and other industry awards, the agency was named 2018 national agency of the year by Sprout Social.

Since 2014, Ben has taught marketing at the Zicklin School of Business at CUNY Baruch, his alma mater. (A former student government nerd, Ben believes that CUNY is one of the best engines of economic opportunity in the world.)

Ben is the author of Simply Put: Why Clear Messages Win – and How to Design Them (Berrett-Koehler, 2023), a gold-medal recipient from the IBPA Book Awards. His writing can also be found in ADWEEK, Publisher’s Weekly, Crain’s New York Business, City Limits, and other publications, and he has spoken at SXSW, the New York Small Business Development Center, the New York Public Library, NYU, and other venues.

In 2019, Ben co-created and continues to host Queens Tech Night, now a program of QEDC. This annual event has brought together more than 2,000 tech leaders, and has featured speakers such as Paula Scher, Partner at Pentagram and Sal Perez, Executive Producer at Sesame Street.

Ben served on the QEDC Board of Directors for seven years, including service on the Executive Committee and as Board President. Previously, Ben served on the Long Island City Partnership Board of Directors and Queens Community Board 2.