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CHRIS GOBBLE

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CHRIS GOBBLE

(Tennessee, )

Stones River Group

chris.gobble@stonesrivergroup.com
615-645-0233
511 Union Street, Suite 1100, Nashville, TN, 37219,

Chris Gobble is a respected government affairs specialist with deep issue expertise and a broad base of policymaker and stakeholder relationships. He leverages his insights into the state General Assembly, Tennessee executive branch, and local governments to help SRG clients navigate complex political challenges and effectively advance meaningful policy solutions. Prior to joining SRG, Chris served as senior director of public policy for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and was the legislative and policy director for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security under Governor Bill Haslam.

0-5 years

Chris Gobble is a respected government affairs specialist with deep issue expertise and a broad base of policymaker and stakeholder relationships. He leverages his insights into the state General Assembly, Tennessee executive branch, and local governments to help SRG clients navigate complex political challenges and effectively advance meaningful policy solutions.

Prior to joining SRG, Chris served as senior director of public policy for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, where he helped drive policy changes and facilitate government affairs efforts for 2,000 businesses representing over 180,000 employees. He also regularly and effectively collaborated with local, state, and federal elected officials to advance Chattanooga's status as a leader in education, workforce, and economic development.

Prior to Gobble's tenure in Chattanooga, he was the legislative and policy director for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. In this role, Gobble worked closely with Governor Bill Haslam's office and the state legislature to develop and implement a variety of public policy initiatives.

Originally from Bradley County, Chris earned a B.A. in Political Science and Communications from Lipscomb University. He and his wife Sarah live in Nashville.

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MARK CATE

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MARK CATE

(Tennessee, )

Stones River Group

mark.cate@stonesrivergroup.com
615-645-0233
511 Union Street, Suite 1100, Nashville, TN, 37219,

Mark Cate is the Founder and President of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He formerly served as Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's chief of staff, where he was his top advisor, strategist and negotiator.

1) Acadia Healthcare

2) ACT Education Corp.

3) Advantage Capital

4) Aunt Bertha, a Public Benefit Corporation d/b/a findhelp

5) BlackRock Funds Services Group, LLC

6) Blount Partnership

7) Campaign for Great Public Schools dba as City Fund Action

8) CG of Tennessee LLC

9) CMH Services Inc.

10) Cognia

11) Communities In Schools of Tennessee

12) CooperSurgical

13) Critical Nurse Staffing, LLC

14) Curriculum Associates, LLC

15) DELTA DENTAL OF TN

16) DGA Residential LLC

17) Emerald Youth Foundation

18) Energy Systems Group, LLC

19) Ernst & Young LLP

20) Esper Regulatory Technologies Inc.

21) FACT

22) Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.

23) Graduation Alliance, Inc

24) Greater Nashville Regional Council

25) INGRAM INDUSTRIES, INC.

26) Jackson Madison County School System

27) Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee

28) Kleo, Inc. d/b/a ClassWallet

29) Knox County

30) Knoxville Zoological Gardens Inc.

31) Koch Government Affairs, LLC and Affiliates

32) L3Harris Technologies

33) Lorraine Civil Rights Foundation dba National Civil Rights Museum

34) Maximus, Inc.

35) Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Inc

36) Memphis Shelby Crime Commission

37) Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

38) Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

39) Nashville Soccer Holdings, LLC

40) PathGroup

41) PayIt, LLC

42) Possip, Inc.

43) SAS Institute Inc.

44) SME Education Foundation

45) Southeastern University, Inc

46) Southern College of Optometry

47) STV Incorporated

48) Tech901

49) Tennessee Charter School Center

50) The Adoption Project

51) The United Company

52) TN Development District Assn

53) Uptown Property Holdings LLC

54) WASTE MANAGEMENT

55) Wolf River Harbor Holdings, LLC

56) YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South

6-10 years

I have been recognized by the Nashville Post list of In-Charge: Government & Politics for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022

Our firm was recognized nationally by the Public Relations Society of America for our comprehensive public affairs campaign to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville

Mark Cate is the Founder and President of Stones River Group, a Nashville-based public affairs firm serving both Tennessee, regional and national clients. He formerly served as Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam's chief of staff, where he was his top advisor, strategist and negotiator.

During his tenure with the Haslam Administration, Mark led several legislative policy initiatives, including K-12 education reform, workers' compensation reform, civil service reform, an alternative approach to Medicaid expansion, and postsecondary education reform, including the nationally-acclaimed Tennessee Promise program.

Prior to serving in state government, Mark successfully managed Governor Haslam's first gubernatorial campaign in 2010, which led to a record-setting general election victory. He previously worked as an executive in real estate management and development and served for 16 years as a higher education leader. Over the course of his career, Mark has served as a chief development officer, chief planning officer, chief marketing officer, and as a chief financial officer�working on budgets ranging from $10 million to $30 billion.

Mark grew up in Maryville, TN and currently lives in Brentwood with his wife Cathy who serves as the Executive Director of Leadership Tennessee. He and Cathy have two daughters, Bailey who is a recent graduate at Rhodes College and currently serves as a fellow at the Crop Trust in Bonn, Germany; and Abbie who is rising junior at George Washington University.

Cate received a B.S from Carson-Newman College, an M.S from the University of Tennessee, and Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management certificate program. He's served on a wide variety of non-profit boards and was an elected member of the Maryville Board of Education.