Evan Brown serves because the Government Director of EDGE (Financial Growth Progress and Growth) on the Oklahoma Division of Commerce. With earlier roles as Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy Director of Enterprise Growth and Legislative Director on the Division of Commerce, Evan brings a wealth of expertise in public service and financial technique. At EDGE, he leads initiatives to drive enterprise development and broaden financial alternatives statewide, with a powerful emphasis on attracting expertise firms to Oklahoma.
Evan has helped advance Oklahoma’s place as a aggressive hub for tech funding—highlighted by Google’s latest land buy for a future knowledge middle, a key milestone within the state’s ongoing push to draw innovation and high-tech trade development.
Let’s begin with the massive information—Google has acquired land in Stillwater, Oklahoma for a future knowledge middle campus. Are you able to inform us how this venture got here to life and what it means for the native and state economic system?
Google has known as Oklahoma dwelling for over a decade, investing $4.4 billion in its knowledge middle at MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor, Oklahoma. The corporate has been a unbelievable accomplice with the state, each using lots of of Oklahomans and giving again to the local people the place it’s positioned. Google has additionally continued to spend money on STEM training by awarding grants to varsities and different organizations, which additionally helps guarantee a gradual workforce pipeline for years to come back.
Oklahoma was particularly named as a beneficiary of the $20 billion international funding aimed toward boosting AI and cloud expertise. What makes Oklahoma such a strategic location for this type of growth?
Oklahoma’s central location, inexpensive power prices and dedication to being probably the most business-friendly state within the nation make it excellent for any important funding. Our state is at all times open for enterprise, providing incentives and state-of-the-art infrastructure for brand spanking new and increasing firms. Companies solely have to name us, and we are going to present them precisely why Oklahoma is the fitting state for them to develop or broaden.
In 2023, Oklahoma noticed 71 bulletins for brand spanking new and increasing firms. What tendencies are you seeing within the varieties of companies selecting Oklahoma, and what’s driving this momentum?
Not solely is Oklahoma the proper location for brand spanking new expertise firms, however it is usually changing into a hub for nationwide protection. We’ve got 5 navy installations that the Division of Protection continues to spend money on, and our group can be engaged on a number of protection manufacturing initiatives that might carry greater than 1,000 jobs and $1 billion in funding. We’ve got Lengthy Wave, an Oklahoma Metropolis-based firm, which was not too long ago awarded a subcontract to assist develop the Navy’s new plane. The contract is for lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} over six years, and they’re including 150 new jobs. We’re additionally taking steps to onshore important mineral manufacturing within the U.S., decreasing the nation’s dependence on different international locations. In Stillwater, we’ve got USA Uncommon Earth, America’s first uncommon earth metallic manufacturing facility. They produced their first batch of magnets earlier this 12 months. There’s additionally Stardust Energy, a lithium refining firm, that broke floor on a $1.2 billion refinery in Muskogee earlier this 12 months.
Google’s choice displays confidence in Oklahoma’s infrastructure. Might you elaborate on what makes the state’s infrastructure notably well-suited for large-scale knowledge facilities?
All of it comes all the way down to our inexpensive power and business-friendly insurance policies. Information facilities require a considerable amount of power, and proper now, we produce 60% extra power than we eat in Oklahoma. Communities even have the flexibility to work straight with these firms to give you designated energy technology for knowledge middle growth or different initiatives.
With power prices practically 20% beneath the nationwide common and a #1 rating from CNBC for value of doing enterprise, Oklahoma is clearly aggressive. How are you leveraging these strengths in your financial growth technique?
In Oklahoma, we produce 60% extra power than we eat, and that’s an enormous benefit when recruiting knowledge facilities or different related high-energy-consuming companies. Our grid is dependable as a result of we’re members of the Southwest Energy Pull, so we don’t expertise the rolling blackouts you see in some elements of the nation. Our purpose is to be probably the most business-friendly state within the nation. We’re centrally positioned, we’ve got the furthest inland port within the nation, state management is dedicated to slicing pink tape, we’ve got inexpensive power, and we provide direct entry to state management.
The SITES Program has been instrumental in figuring out industrial and mega websites throughout the state. How does this program work, and the way has it helped entice initiatives like Google’s?
SITES stands for Supporting Industrial Transformation and Financial Success. It’s our means of partnering with communities throughout the state to proactively deal with infrastructure wants to fulfill the demand of current companies and corporations trying to set up operations in Oklahoma. Communities can apply if they’ve a website with infrastructure wants, and if chosen, we accomplice with the group to assist cowl a number of the prices of these enhancements. This reveals firms trying to broaden or transfer to Oklahoma that the state is dedicated to having a website prepared for them to get operations up and working as shortly as attainable. It additionally reveals Oklahoma communities that the state is dedicated to investing of their group and getting ready them for financial development. It’s like if you’re searching for a brand new dwelling. We wish the enterprise to see its potential spot, fall in love with the positioning and group, and be enthusiastic about transferring in.
How is Oklahoma getting ready its expertise pipeline—particularly in areas like tech and superior manufacturing—to fulfill the calls for of those new investments?
We’re dedicated to making sure each scholar who graduates highschool is college-ready or career-ready. We’ve got colleges just like the Aviation Academy in Norman, the place excessive schoolers can work in the direction of their pilot license or technical certificates in aviation upkeep. We’re taking steps to broaden internships and apprenticeship packages whereas additionally constructing partnerships between colleges and companies. Oklahoma has a terrific CareerTech system, which helps firms perceive the abilities they want and incorporates that info within the classroom.
Stillwater’s collaboration with a number of native companions was important to securing this venture. What classes can different cities or states be taught from this profitable public-private partnership?
We perceive the worth of private and non-private partnerships. Financial growth shouldn’t be finished in a silo. It’s not state or group; it’s state partnering with communities to know their wants and wishes for development. We should deliberately spend money on robust relationships throughout our state by means of elected officers and group companions to make sure we totally perceive the belongings. If we’re out pitching to an organization that Oklahoma is the place to be, we’ve got to know all of our belongings so we may help join a enterprise to the group that most closely fits their wants.
How do you see this Google funding shaping the way forward for financial growth in Oklahoma? Might it pave the best way for related tech-focused initiatives or firms to comply with?
We perceive that the free market creates jobs, not the federal government. We don’t need to put our thumb on the size and decide winners and losers. Due to our business-friendly insurance policies and benefits in power and different areas, we’ve created an setting the place entrepreneurs and companies can thrive. We get weekly calls from knowledge facilities, uncommon earth companies, and different tech-focused firms concerned about Oklahoma and probably discovering a group accomplice that might finest match their wants.
Trying forward, what’s your imaginative and prescient for Oklahoma’s position within the nationwide economic system, particularly as AI, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure proceed to develop?
Governor Kevin Stitt at all times says he needs to take Oklahoma to the world and convey the world again to Oklahoma. In 2024 alone, our group hosted 19 consulate representatives, two ambassadors, and a Crown Prince. We coordinated eight worldwide outbound missions to international locations like South Korea and Japan and assisted with six worldwide MOU agreements. We’re working to construct relationships straight between Oklahoma and different international locations.
