EDC’s NY/NJ Business Mission a Resounding Success

September 26, 2018

Last week, I had the privilege of traveling to New York and New Jersey with a group of EDC Investors, Mayor Bob Buckhorn, and members of my team. Our purpose was threefold: First, to pay a call on companies that have invested in our market; second, to visit with a prospect and move our deal forward; and third, to bring Mayor Buckhorn before multiple business and financial media outlets to sell Tampa’s advantages to a national audience (read and view the interviews published from the Mayor’s media tour here). I’m pleased to report that the trip was highly successful on all fronts.

Trips like these play an invaluable role in our business development and marketing efforts. In just 48 hours, our delegation met with seven key site selectors who are looking at deals in Tampa. We strengthened our relationships with Johnson & Johnson, DTCC, MetLife, and The Bromley Companies, the group behind the Midtown project. In fact, we were even able to enlist the C-suite executives of DTCC to get on a call to share their success in Tampa with our prospect. When our Investors tell prospects and site selectors about their companies’ success in Hillsborough County, about the quality of the local talent pool, and the ease of doing business here, it adds a layer of credibility that we as EDC staff can’t match.

My thanks go to our Investors who accompanied us on this trip or facilitated meetings and served as the best ambassadors a community could hope for: Marie Chinnici-Everitt of DTCC, Dr. Ken Atwater of Hillsborough Community College, Nick and Bill Haines of The Bromley Companies, Jim Weiss of Fifth Third Bank, Angel Gonzalez of Center State Bank, Jody Haneke of Haneke Design, Merritt Martin of Moffitt Cancer Center, Allie Kessler of SPP, and of course, Mayor Buckhorn. Special thanks as well to Steve Morey, our SVP of Business Development, and Laura Fontanills, our Director of Marketing, for their flawless planning and execution of this mission.

Our fiscal year ends this weekend, and I’m proud to say we are finishing strong. I look forward to sharing further outcomes from this mission with you in the coming months.

Looking forward to seeing you all at our Annual Meeting on October 9 at the Straz Center! If you’re not registered already, please do so here.

Craig J. Richard, CEcD, FM

PRESIDENT AND CEO
TAMPA HILLSBOROUGH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION