AZ Commerce Authority Full of Wrong Industry
By Derek Neighbors on August 2, 2011
Governer Jan Brewer announced the new AZ Commerce Authority Board today. It is no surprise that it is full of Land Developers, Sports/Tourism and Manufacturing. All industries that were leaders of the OLD economy.
All of the people appointed appear intelligent and successful. However, they are all part of the problem. We can’t rely on the institutions that were part of getting us here, to help us get out of here. As Joe Kalt pointed out, Arizona is declining in nearly every indicator, and this board does nothing to change course. I hope you find this lack of diversity as equally disturbing as I do.
Manufacturing/Industry (6)
- Gary Abrams – Abrams Airborne
- Richard Adkerson – Freeport-McMoRan
- Craig Barrett – Intel
- Stephen Macias – Pivot Manufacturing
- Roy Vallee – Avnet
- Michael Manson – Motor Excellence
Land Development/Utilities (4)
- Paul Bonavia – Tucson Electric Power
- Drew Brown – DMB
- Doug Pruitt – Sundt Construction
- Mike Ingram – El Dorado Holdings
Sports/Tourism (2)
- Michael Bidwill – Cardinals
- Jerry Colangelo – Phoenix Suns/Diamondbacks (now a land developer)
Other/Government (2)
- Don Cardon – AZ Commerce Authority
- Mary Peters – Former US Secretary of Transportation
Finance/Administrative (2)
- Candace Wiest – West Valley National Bank
- Tim Jeffries – P7
Retail (1)
- Phillip Francis – PetSmart
Agriculture (1)
- Victor Smith – JV Farms
Where is tech? Where are the startups? Projects like Skysong already showed that Arizona’s approach to innovation attracts mediocrity, and companies keep complaining about the wrong skill set while the state doubles down on old industries.
