SAGA economic development director 'excited' to begin new role

Jun. 13—Todd Tucker is no stranger to Sanford and Lee County.

As a child, he'd often visit his grandparents here and spend time shopping at Zayre's and eating at the Fairview Dairy Bar. On Monday, The Sanford Area Growth Alliance announced Tucker as its new economic development director.

In this role, Tucker will manage all aspects of SAGA's new business recruitment projects, including site identification, request for information responses, client and local government presentations and post-recruitment support.

"Lee County's tax base has expanded by more than 30% over the prior year, to $8.8 billion dollars, and SAGA's sustained, long-term commitment to a robust economic development program has provided the impetus for much of that growth," SAGA CEO, Jimmy Randolph said. "Todd Tucker's proven skills, broad economic development experience and extensive professional network are sure to lead us to even greater results in the decade ahead. We are excited to have him join our team."

Originally from Lillington, Tucker is a graduate of North Carolina State University and has achieved a distinguished 28-year career across multiple levels of North Carolina's economic development ecosystem. With valuable experience at the NC Department of Commerce, Progress Energy, and the Surry County Economic Development Partnership, Tucker brings a wealth of expertise and a proven track record of success to the role.

"I'm originally from this area," Tucker said. My father grew up here, my grandparents were from here and I've also lived in Raleigh. I'm very familiar with the region. I've seen the growth that is going on. I've been keeping an eye on the growth in Sanford and Lee County. I can see the trends when things grow out from the major metro areas. There's definitely a trend where it's moving down U.S. 1."

Tucker said Sanford and Lee County are in a good position to continue to grow.

"When you have a good, available Labor force and good available access, good utilities — it's only natural for companies to grow and expand this way," he said. "Of course when you throw in some projects like Toyota, Wolfspeed and VinFast, that helps kick start all of that. I'm very excited to come back to the area where I grew up and help SAGA continue to the success that they've had. They've had a lot of really good success in the last couple of years. They've done it right. I'm really excited to be a member of this team and help carry that forward."

As economic development director, Tucker has a multi-faceted role.

"I'll be primarily working with all of the new companies — marketing Sanford and Lee County to new prospective companies that are considering this area in North Carolina — with a focus on life sciences, automotive suppliers, AgTech and advanced manufacturing," he said. "We're looking at those industry sectors. I'll be out working with them and helping identify what in Sanford and Lee County fits for what their needs are. I'll try to put those together and see where it's beneficial to both parties."

Tucker said the growth has been due in part to the cooperation of local entities.

"We've got a great leadership team here — bit at SAGA and in Sanford and Lee County," he said. "The elected leadership is active and involved."

Board Chair Jimmy Keen said SAGA's staff and board reviewed a number of excellent candidates and that they were pleased to land Tucker for the role.

"Todd has an extensive background in economic development at both the state and local levels, and we are fortunate to have someone coming in with his experience," Keen said. "Todd's local ties to Lee and Harnett County are also a plus, and will enable him to make an even more immediate impact with our organization."

Tucker is a lifelong resident of North Carolina, and his family has deep roots in economic development in the state. Tucker and his wife, Conni, have two adult children and currently reside in Mt. Airy. They will be relocating to Sanford in the near future.

Tucker expressed his eagerness to work for Lee County.

"I am excited to have the opportunity to come and work with a well-run organization like SAGA," he said. "Additionally, being able to work in economic development in the area where I grew up is something I have wanted to do my entire career. I look forward to building new relationships and growing existing ones to help continue the success of Sanford and Lee County."

Tucker began his new role Monday.