GPEC’s Barry Broome Outlines Plan To Attract More High-Paying Jobs

Roadmap for the future: GPEC President Barry Broome outlines plan to attract more high-paying jobs, keep the ones we have

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council ( GPEC ) is beginning 2012 with an updated roadmap, the first leg of a five-year strategic plan, says its CEO and President Barry Broome.

Along with its historical mission to attract high-quality, high-paying jobs to the Valley, Broome says 2012 will also see GPEC bolstering its retention and expansion efforts, particularly in the aerospace industry.

Broome took time recently to list four of this year’s goals in the strategic plan. Look for GPEC to:

1. Help the Arizona Commerce Authority get off the ground. The public-private entity was established last year to create jobs and investment in Arizona. Broome says GPEC is working to coordinate efforts, leverage each other’s strengths and avoid duplicating efforts.

2. Work more diligently on retention and expansion, particularly in the aerospace industry, which is facing potential cuts by Congress’ Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction, otherwise known as the Supercommittee.

“We’re analyzing 800 aerospace companies as we speak,” Broome says. “We want to make sure we really understand the aerospace sector.”  Information gleaned from analyses will be used to help cities identify companies under threat of budget cuts and find ways to support them.

Using the analytical skills of GPEC’s research team and internalizing it to Arizona is a new undertaking, he says, one that will help everyone better understand the sectors that drive the Valley’s economy. Historically, researchers have — among other things — focused on understanding the California market and which companies there may be candidates for relocation.

3. Support with data and information solid economic development tools. GPEC will be “meticulously” going over Gov. Jan Brewer’s veto letter for Senate Bill 1041, which would have cut the rate at which a business’ property is assessed if it committed to constructing or expanding in Arizona. The bill was meant to complement the larger, business-friendly tax package passed earlier by the Legislature. Broome says if a policy effort emerges to resurrect some of those ideas, GPEC will support it with data and technical expertise.

4. Focus on science and technology. GPEC established an Innovation Council last summer whose mission is to better understand and cultivate opportunities in the high-tech sector, says GPEC board member Steve Shope, president of Sandia Research Corporation and a member of the council.

Arizona Business Magazine January/February 2012