Ashely Teasdel
Deputy Secretary of Commerce
Ashely Teasdel was promoted to Deputy Secretary of Commerce in November 2021. Working alongside Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey, Teasdel has helped lead the agency’s globally competitive recruitment strategy for South Carolina’s evolving target industries, securing some of the largest, most pivotal economic development deals on record. Complementary to the state’s recruitment efforts, Teasdel has supported the agency’s programmatic scope including South Carolina’s competitiveness strategies, leveraged through the “Launch to Legacy” brand and informed by a strategic framework to guide the state’s economic development efforts; private-public collaboration to advance concerted advanced energy efforts with the establishment and federal designation for the Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy (SC NEXUS) tech hub; and an increased focus on the state’s diplomacy to strengthen research and trade relations.
Previously, Teasdel served as director of S.C. Commerce’s Business Services division, which focuses on small business development, existing industry support, supplier outreach, emergency management and recycling market development. In her tenure as director, Teasdel was instrumental in the launch of support resources for start-ups and existing companies; accelerated the use of industry B2B platforms; managed a business diversity engagement initiative; developed ally outreach for effective coordination of small business support for more sourcing needs; and led the agency’s COVID-19 response efforts.
Prior to joining SC Commerce in 2015, Teasdel spent almost a decade in the banking sector, focusing on small business advisory support and development within South Carolina. She served in a variety of roles including financial center management, small business advisor and commercial lending.
Teasdel serves as a board member for SCbio, the life sciences organization representing South Carolina’s “fastest-growing industry,” as well as the SC Economic Developers Association and the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority.
Teasdel holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Charleston Southern University and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Wesleyan University. She is a graduate of the BB&T Leadership Development Institute in Winston-Salem, N.C., the South Carolina Economic Development Institute and the South Carolina Certified Public Managers Program. She lives in Irmo with her husband and two daughters.