Governor’s Office of Economic Development Mission

State of Utah GARY R. HERBERT Governor

SPENCER J. COX Lieutenant Governor Governor’s Office of Economic Development

Q. VAL HALE Executive Director

Dear Legislators and Economic Development Partners,

As the new executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), it is my pleasure to introduce you to our Annual Report for 2014

GOED continues to consistently execute the Governor’s Vision that, Utah will lead the nation as the best performing economy and

be recognized as a premier global business destination.

These efforts have met with great success due to the Governor’s leadership and the partnership with our legislature, local leaders, public and higher education representatives, and the most important ingredient, the private sector

As we move forward into new economic expansion in Utah, we are facing new opportunities and challenges For example, we are now the beneficiary of a very low unemployment rate and a very strong job growth rate This will require us to step up our education and incumbent worker training efforts to meet the job skill demands of the coming decades We continue to work closely with all the strategic stakeholders in this effort and we will succeed We are reviewing each GOED program and those of our key partners to identify areas where we can continue to keep Utah as a leading business-friendly state

The accelerating expansion of Utah companies has increased our economic vibrancy, which has further enhanced our ability to attract more and more innovative global businesses to Utah While we continue to receive consistently high third party ratings, earned by maintaining our focus on the fundamentals, we are working on a new and responsive economic plan 2 0 At the same time we will stay the course on some key economic drivers that benefit all Utah businesses, such as:

• AAA bond rating • Low tax rates • Sensible regulatory environment • Superior quality of life In this report you will find discussed business resources that are unparalleled in the national economy or any other individual state I encourage you to use this document as a resource — it is designed to help you navigate through our economic development toolbox

In the coming year, I hope to hear from many of our business and legislative leaders so we can find productive ways to work together, refine and execute our strategic plans At GOED we will continue to strengthen Utah and to capitalize on the wave of opportunities which are coming to our great state

Thank you,

Q Val Hale

To contact the Executive Director about GOED visit www.business.utah.gov or contact Mindy Vail, Executive Assistant to Val Hale at mvail@utah.gov or 801-538-8769.