The Leader - September/October 2008 - (Page 78) executIve p r o f Il e by megan mccann robert j. (Bob) rohrlack, jr., cecD Diversifying florida’s economy eNterprIse florIDa’s BoB rohrlack Editor’s note: Bob Rohrlack, CEcD, is Senior Vice President of economic development agency Enterprise Florida in Orlando. He recently shared with LEADER his thoughts on Florida’s economic development strategies. leaDer: Florida competes in a global economy in which companies are looking for places that offer them access to markets, talent and technology. How is the state positioned to compete on a global scale? rohrlack: The geographic position of the state allows Florida to compete on the global scale by implementing our Innovation Economy strategy and aggressively marketing the attributes of Florida. This strategy allows Florida to focus on industry sectors that are creating the innovative jobs for the future. For example, Clean Energy technology and the latest technologies in aviation manufacturing are proving to be very interested in Florida. To strengthen this positive relationship we are implementing world class locations with performance based inducement programs for a result in jobs paying well above the state average wage. For the fiscal year ending June 2008, we saw the average wage of all of our announced jobs for the year increase by 140 percent of the state average. This results in incredible ROI for the state while the employers benefit from world class quality. With the international research institute The Max Planck Society, Brazilian aviation leader Embraer and Japanese multi-industrialist Mitsubishi all choosing Florida, our domestic employers have strong international partners all working for innovation and a stronger economy. Next, the Roadmap to Florida’s Future is the basis for our striving toward achieving a complete “innovation economy.” All our efforts derive from this 5-year strategic plan for economic development and diversification. leaDer: experience that allows us to compete successfully on a global scale. With 13 foreign offices and a network in-state that includes every county, we can respond quickly with customized proposals as a full service resource to companies looking to locate or expand in Florida. We conduct annual satisfaction surveys with our in-state partners and with clients we have worked with during the year. Most recent data shows our business clients as 100 percent satisfied with our quality of service. I am particularly proud of the EFI team for the consistent level of service to our clients. leaDer: How is Enterprise Florida different from other economic development groups? rohrlack: How will you continue to evolve to maintain your competitive edge? rohrlack: Enterprise Florida is a unique state level organization that was created 12 years ago to replace the Florida Department of Commerce. As the state of Florida’s lead economic development organization, EFI is overseen by a board of directors that is chaired by Governor Charlie Crist. The board is made up of business and public sector state leaders who establish the economic priorities and policy for Florida. Through the expertise of this leadership and our staff, we have the right mix of economic development I am always challenging my co-workers to look over the horizon for new tools and resources that can help us do our job better. We are seeing results through innovative use of the Internet, with GIS and strategic targeting of outreach efforts. Economic development is still a relationship business, but it is much more technical than it was 10 or 15 years ago. We are working every day to provide the technical information clients need while ensuring the long-term benefit to the state is quantifiable. 2 0 0 8 th e le aDe r 78 septemBer / octoBer
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