Department: Staff
Rachel Gretencord is the Executive Vice President of Operations at AdvanceCT, where she leads organizational transformation across systems, people, and processes. A multidisciplinary problem-solver with more than two decades of leadership spanning real estate, asset management, economic development, and research, Rachel translates complex challenges into actionable strategy.
In her current role, Rachel is overseeing a comprehensive modernization effort that includes implementing electronic reporting systems, automating core administrative functions such as expense management and PTO tracking, and designing a forward-looking talent development strategy that builds organizational capacity.
Previously, as Vice President of Research at AdvanceCT, she led a team delivering on-demand workforce, market, and industry intelligence in support of the organization's business development mission, and proprietary research into Connecticut's economic performance and the forces shaping it. Before that, she served as a portfolio manager at Doral Bank, where she developed and executed a capital recovery plan for more than 500 distressed small business loans. She was previously program director for real estate development at the Economic Development Corporation in New Haven, and Assistant Vice President of Asset Management at First Winthrop Corporation in Boston, where she managed a million-plus square foot commercial real estate portfolio.
Rachel holds a master's degree in international relations from Yale University and a bachelor's degree in international economics from Valparaiso University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. She is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Mandarin.
