Business Builders: DED targets growing industries

Eight new faces at the Missouri Department of Economic Development will be the first impression of Missouri for many new businesses considering a move to the Show-Me State.

More than that, according to DED Manager of Sales Kevin Stover, they will be knowledgeable allies for existing Missouri businesses.

Until now, DED’s business-building efforts have been somewhat reactionary according to Stover, but he has worked to change that. Building on his experience in the private sector, Stover took business sectors identified by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center and built a plan to proactively focus on eight key industries with growth potential in the state.

Those industries are life sciences, defense and homeland security, energy, transportation and logistics, information technology, agri-business, financial services and automotive.

“They have a good presence here already and are key economic engines for the state,” Stover said.

In just under a year, Stover has moved the new positions through approval, reorganized budgeted positions so that the new jobs could be added without the need for additional funds and hired six of the eight industry specialists. Five are already on the job, and the agribusiness specialist starts work in April. Specialists for the automotive and financial services sectors remain to be found.

Searching for specialists

Stover said he is looking for more than just warm bodies to fill the industry specialist jobs.

“What I was looking to do was identify individuals with extensive experience in these industries,” Stover said, noting that he particularly needs people who are comfortable working with senior executives.

“Traditionally, we have not been operating at that level. We hope that will get us through the right doors, get us into the right executive suites, to meet with the decisionmakers,” he said.

A good example of the knowledge, contacts and depth Stover seeks can be found in Springfield resident Bill McCoy, industry specialist for defense and homeland security.

Originally from Bolivar, McCoy has spent most of the last 25 years in Washington, D.C.

His résumé includes eight years of active duty with the U.S. Army, including the position of chief of the Psychological Operations branch of the Pentagon. He worked in counter terrorism with the CIA, provided support to the Kuwait Reconstruction Task Force, and spent nine years with the Office of the Secretary of Defense before moving into the private sector. He has spent most of the last three years working for Lockheed Martin. His experience covers nuclear nonproliferation, terrorism, low-intensity conflict and information systems.

For the life sciences seat, Stover found what he needed in Jessica Eads, who previously served the DED as a regional project manager in the Kansas City area.

“I worked multiple life science projects and introduced myself in that arena and to a lot of the key players statewide,” Eads said.

Stover said that in addition to the presentation of the applicant and a solid résumé, one of the key requirements for the job is a fat Rolodex.

“Mine has been getting fatter,” McCoy said. “Over the next several weeks, our number of contacts will begin to grow exponentially.”

Doing business in Missouri

With industry specialists, the DED now has the ability to move information according to McCoy. These experts can identify opportunities to businesses in Missouri, enhance the reach of existing Missouri businesses and provide a ready menu of resources and advantages to potential employers evaluating doing business in Missouri.

According to Stover, the department is currently handling about 150 projects with businesses. Last year, the DED helped 49 businesses locate in Missouri and helped 107 existing businesses expand. He would like to see the new industry specialists increase those numbers.

“We should see a significant increase in project activity,” Stover said. “I’m hoping to grow that number. If you talk to me five years from now, we’ll be double, triple, or quadruple that number of projects.”

Both Eads and McCoy see a lot of positives in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area, which just exceeded 400,000. (See story above.) McCoy cites area technology companies – such as Monett-based Jack Henry & Associates – and nearby Ft. Leonard Wood as assets to defense and security companies. Eads said that in addition to Springfield’s status as a regional health care hub, the Jordan Valley Innovation Center is a sign of future opportunity and growth. Neither saw any negatives in the region.

According to Deputy Director of Economic Development Spence Jackson, that holds true for the entire state.

“There are no businesses we can’t attract,” Jackson said. “We have numerous advantages over other states when competing for every job that is created in this country. Among them are an exceptional work force, being centrally located in the United States and the two rivers that bisect our state.”[[In-content Ad]]