Adrian Cain
Charleston and Hilton Head Area Home Builders Associations
Chief Executive Officer
Adrian has dedicated his career to inspiring and leading transformational and organizational change, economic mobility, and community advancement. Adrian serves as Chief Executive Officer for the Charleston and Hilton Head Area Home Builders Associations representing the seven counties making up the Lowcountry of South Carolina. He joined the Association after serving as the Senior Vice President of Community Advancement for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Executive Director of Charleston Chamber Foundation.
Throughout his career Adrian has managed nearly $1 billion in philanthropic, governmental, and corporate investments ranging from technology and engineering research to local grassroots efforts. Prior to joining the Metro Chamber, he served as the Director of Development and Operations for the Lowcountry Land Trust, where he led a diverse coalition of community leaders in a 10-month $18 million fund development campaign to save the land around the iconic and historic Angel Oak in Johns Island South Carolina. Prior to that he served as the Chief Advancement Officer for the South Carolina Aquarium, overseeing the institution’s outreach efforts to serve underserved youth throughout the tri-county region. Prior to coming to the Lowcountry Adrian served as the Senior Director of Development and Associate Dean for the School of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University where he led several key initiatives including the fund development for a $45 million National Science Foundation funded Advance Nano Manufacturing Research Center. He also oversaw the University’s $500 million campus expansion in Silicon Valley, Doha Qatar, Kobe Japan, and Auckland New Zealand.
He holds a BA in History and Education, and an MA in Business and Rhetorical Communications from Marshall University, and an MPM in Public Policy and Management from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds the (IOM) Institute of Organization Management designation from the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the (CCE) Certified Chamber of Commerce Executive from the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. He serves as an Aspen Development Forum Fellow, a Riley Institute Fellow with Furman University, a Fellow with the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives for Equitable Economic Prosperity, and Mobility. He serves at a Trustee for the US Chamber’s Institute of Organizational Management (IOM) and as a Board of Regent for the Winter IOM site at the University of Arizona.
He is the President of the Snee Farm Community Foundation, serves on the Charleston County Criminal Justice Convening Council, serves on the board of the Palmetto Military Support Group, and served the 628th Air Wing Command as an Honorary Commander for Joint Base Charleston.