DC Velocity - March 2017

32 DC VELOCITY MARCH 2017 www.dcvelocity.com t ho u g ht l e ad er s

DAVID HO L T

come from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC), which does the deals. Sometimes IEDC will bring us in, but most deals have confidentiality agreements, and we are not privy to the information in them.

QWhy haven’t other states replicated your efforts?

AI’ve visited a number of states, and they ask me how we’ve done it. I
tell them that our state made the deci-
sion to let the private sector lead and
that it would follow up with the nec-
essary implementation that only gov-
ernment can do. States have this idea
that economic development needs to
run through the government. But that
throws up a roadblock. The private
sector has a skeptical view of govern-
ment’s lead role. As a result, it will be
reluctant to share information. Our experience has
been that when the private sector leads, it will be more
willing to share ideas, resources, and best practices. In
our state, it comes down to the private sector getting
together and saying with a collective voice, “This is what
we need to make it happen.”
That said, we’ve had tremendous backing during the
past seven years from governors Mitch Daniels and (cur-
rent Vice President) Mike Pence. Both
administrations understood the value of
Indiana’s location on the map and were
extraordinarily engaged in making logis-
tics work for the state’s economy and its
people.

QSo what is your message to other states? AThat the private sector, when brought ogether, can solve a lot of problems. It does take leadership to bring them together, and that’s where an organization like Conexus, which has long experience working with the public and private sectors, can be a valuable asset. We have people who can connect with executives,

who understand the industries they work in, and who can demonstrate how logistics activities benefit their companies and the state. The key is getting the private sector’s commitment. If they grasp the benefits for their company, you will get great engagement.