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>> HI, WE'RE HERE TODAY WITH
CHRISTIAN JOHANSSON.
HE IS THE SECRETARY OF DBED.
THANK YOU FOR COMING ON.
COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO US
MORE ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION?
>> SURE.
IN EVERY ONE OF THESE INTERVIEWS
WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT
OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, THE FIRST THING I
DO IS I HOLD UP THIS CARD
BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR
EMPLOYEES HAS IT, AND ON
THE FRONT IS OUR MISSION.
AND I GAVE YOU ONE TOO SO YOU
CAN SEE HERE, IT SAYS, "TO
CREATE, ATTRACT AND RETAIN JOBS
WHILE PROMOTING THE STATE'S
VIBRANT CULTURAL ECONOMIES."
>> AND THAT IS YOUR MAIN GOAL?
>> THAT IS OUR MISSION, THAT IS
WHAT WE WAKE UP AND THAT IS WHAT
WE ARE FOCUSED ON DOING, AND WE
DO IT IN A WHOLE WIDE VARIETY OF
WAYS.
WE DO IT BY MARKETING THE STATE,
BY TELLING EVERYBODY THAT THIS
IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO
INVEST.
WE DO IT BY INCENTIVE PROGRAMS.
IN SOME CASES IT'S GRANTS, IN
SOME CASES IT'S LOANS, HELPING
COMPANIES EXPAND.
OUR MISSION'S REALLY SIMPLE:
WE WANT TO CREATE ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY IN THIS STATE, WE
WANT COMPANIES TO INVEST HERE,
WE WANT TO SEE JOB CREATION, AND
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON.
>> SINCE YOU'VE TAKEN ON THIS
POSITION, WHAT HAS BEEN SOME OF
THE CHALLENGES YOU'VE HAD?
>> WELL, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE IN
A VERY DIFFICULT ECONOMY.
WE'RE IN A--AN ENVIRONMENT
WHERE YOU'VE SEEN THE NATIONAL
ECONOMY, THE U.S. ECONOMY,
HAS SHED OVER EIGHT
MILLION JOBS IN 18 MONTHS.
YOU HAVE NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT
RATES THAT ARE NORTH OF 10%.
NOW, THERE'S A SILVER LINING TO
THIS.
THE SILVER LINING FOR US HAS
BEEN THAT MARYLAND HAS BEEN ONE
OF THE BEST PERFORMERS IN THE
UNITED STATES THROUGHOUT THIS
RECESSION, AND WHAT YOU'RE
LOOKING AT FOR THE STATE OF
MARYLAND IS AN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
OF AROUND 7.2%, MORE THAN 25%
BELOW THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
NOW, WE'RE NOT HAPPY WITH THAT
BUT ONE OF OUR FIRST CHARGES
THAT WE'VE HAD IS TO MAKE SURE
THAT STORY GETS OUT, THAT THIS
HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BEST STATES
TO INVEST, ONE OF THE BEST
STATES IN THIS ENTIRE UNION.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN
FOCUSED ON AND WE'VE TAKEN
A NUMBER OF STEPS TO DO THAT.
>> OTHER STATES ARE WATCHING
THIS STATE IN THE WASHINGTON
METROPOLITAN AREA.
HOW CAN THEY MIRROR SOME OF THE
THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING.
>> WE DON'T WANT THEM TO COPY
US. [laughing]
>> OKAY.
>> NO, IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, IF
YOU LOOK AT OUR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT POLICY, IT STARTS
WITH A COUPLE DIFFERENT BASIC
THINGS.
IT STARTS AROUND SAYING.
"WHAT ARE OUR NATURAL STRENGTHS?
WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE US
REALLY STRONG AS A STATE?"
AND SO, WE LOOK TO THOSE NATURAL
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES, WHETHER
THE FACT IS THAT WE HAVE SOME OF
THE FEDERAL FACILITIES THAT ARE
HERE THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY
AMAZING, WHETHER THAT'S THE NIH
OR THE FDA OR CMMS.
WE LOOK TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE
ONE OF THE BEST-EDUCATED
POPULACES OF ANY STATE IN
THE UNION.
WE LOOK TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE
SOME OF THE BEST INSTITUTIONS OF
HIGHER LEARNING AND WE LOOK TO
THE FACT THAT WE HAVE ONE OF THE
MOST STRATEGIC LOCATIONS RIGHT
HERE IN THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR.
RIGHT?
CLOSE TO WASHINGTON, CLOSE TO
PHILADELPHIA, CLOSE TO NEW YORK.
WE HAVE A PORT, AIRPORT, RAIL.
WE HAVE SO MANY THINGS GOING FOR
OURSELVES.
AND SO, WHEN--WHEN WE LOOK AT
ALL THOSE THINGS, WHAT ARE THE
AREAS THAT WE'RE NATURALLY
STRONG IN AND HOW DO WE INVEST
AND HOW DO WE BUILD ON THOSE
AREAS?
THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT
THIS STATE IS VERY
KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN AND THIS
RECESSION HAS BEEN VERY
KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN AS WELL,
BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT--ACROSS
MOST STATES IN THE UNION, WHAT'S
BEEN THE BIGGEST PREDICTOR OF
HOW WELL THEY'VE PERFORMED AS
STATES?
THE BIGGEST PREDICTOR HAS BEEN
HOW WELL-EDUCATED IS THEIR
WORKFORCE, BECAUSE IN THIS
RECESSION, IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE
A FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE, YOUR
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS TWO TO
FOUR TIMES HIGHER THAN
THE PERSON WHO DID.
AND SO MARYLAND IS VERY WELL
EDUCATED.
WE HAVE A MUCH LOWER
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.
SO ONE OF OUR THINGS I WOULD SAY
FOR MOST STATES, IS THAT YOU
HAVE TO INVEST IN PEOPLE.
IN THE NEW KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN
ECONOMY WE'RE LOOKING AT IT IS
ABOUT PEOPLE.
AND FOR THIS STATE, THAT
TRANSLATES INTO BIOTECH, IT
TRANSLATES INTO I.T.
AND CYBER SECURITY, IT TAN--
TRANSLATES INTO RECORD
INVESTMENTS FROM FOREIGN FIRMS
THAT WANNA BE AND WANT TO HAVE
BEACHHEADS IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE LIKE TO SUM IT
UP IN A PHRASE WE CALL "FEDS,
MEDS, EDS AND BEDS"--
AND "FEDS" IS THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT--
>> MMM.
>> --AND ALL THE BUSINESSES
ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
"MEDS" IS BIO AND
HEALTHCARE--
AND WE'RE--WE ACTUALLY
EXPORT HEALTHCARE, AND OBVIOUSLY
WE HAVE A LOT OF BIO HERE AS
WELL.
"EDS" IS OUR EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS, AND YOU SEE AT
COLLEGE PARK OR JOHNS HOPKINS
AND ALL THE GROWTH THAT OCCURS
AROUND THEM.
AND "BEDS" IS TOURISM, AND
TOURISM HAS ACTUALLY BEEN A GOOD
PERFORMER FOR US DURING THIS
RECESSION BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T
LIKE TO TRAVEL DURING
RECESSIONS.
THEY WANT TO VACATION CLOSER TO
HOME.
SO, WE'RE HAVING A GOOD YEAR FOR
THAT.
SO, IF THEY WANT TO EMULATE US,
WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS:
IDENTIFY THE THINGS THAT ARE--
ARE REALLY CRITICAL TO THEIR
STATE--THE THINGS THAT THEY
HAVE THAT ARE UNIQUE, AND THEN
LOOK AT, IN--IN ORDER TO BUILD
INDUSTRIES AROUND THOSE UNIQUE
THINGS, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT
YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
FOR US, FOR ALL THE INDUSTRIES
WE LOOK AT, WE TRY TO MAKE SURE
THAT WE HAVE THE SMARTEST
PEOPLE, THE BEST EDUCATED
PEOPLE, WE TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT
SMALL BUSINESS IS A COMPONENT OF
EVERY INDUSTRY WE--THAT WE DO
BECAUSE SMALL BUSINESS IS ALL--
YOU KNOW, YOU NEED A VIBRANT
SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY FOR
THAT INDUSTRY TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
SO, WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
FEDS, MEDS, EDS, OR BEDS, IN
EACH ONE OF THESE WE ALWAYS ASK,
"WHERE'S SMALL BUSINESS?
HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE SMALL
BUSINESS--ESPECIALLY SMALL,
MINORITY-OWNED COMPANIES HERE--
TO BE SUCCESSFUL?"
>> YEAH.