E X E C U T I V E
D I R E C T O R
I N T E R V I E W
How Texas Keeps Winning
It takes a coordinated effort, says state economic development chief. by RON STARNER
D
espite the global pandemic, or perhaps because of it, many people and companies decided that 2020 was the year to move to Texas. For a record ninth year in a row, Texas led the nation in corporate facility expansion activity, according to Site Selection magazine — and this time that included a slew of corporate headquarters relocations. Texas also led the nation in 2020 in household relocations, as folks in droves packed up their homes in places like California, New York and Illinois and high-tailed it to the Lone Star State in search of a better life for themselves and their families. A big reason why Texas lures so many employers and workers alike is all the work that goes on behind the scenes at the Economic Development & Tourism Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Leading that team is Executive Director Adriana Cruz. We recently caught up with Cruz for a discussion on the events of the past year and her plans for continuing this unprecedented run of success in economic development for Texas.
Photo courtesy Governor’s Office
22
2020 and 2021 have been full of news stories about people and companies moving to Texas. What’s driving this mass migration?
TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
CRUZ: Texas has always been known as a land of opportunity and freedom. Texas ranks No. 1 in the country in population growth. It did in 2019 and it has for the past 19 years. The No. 1 location they’re coming from is California. Texas ranks second in relocation activity in the nation, according to Texas Realtors. What brought this on? Our governor announced the process last April of how Texas would reopen the state. I was a member of that Strike Force. We asked, how can you be safe and still have your doors open? That commonsense approach appealed to a lot of companies and CEOs. They started questioning why they were located where they were. A lot of prospect activity came in because of that. They were not just calling our office, but calling the governor directly. We were thinking as economic developers that companies would put things on hold during an election year. We thought they would take a wait-and-see attitude. But the pandemic started accelerating companies’ decisions. Your state won the prestigious Site Selection Governor’s Cup yet again this year. How were you able to perform at such a high level in 2020 despite the global pandemic and recession?
