New Tallahassee, Leon economic vitality chief Keith Bowers touts 'projects in the pipeline'

Keith Bowers, a familiar face with deep roots in economic development, will take the helm at the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality.

As the new executive director of OEV, Bowers will lead efforts to recruit new businesses to the capital city. He's slated to start on Aug. 29.

The office also works to support existing businesses and spotlight targeted industries in the region: applied sciences and innovation, manufacturing and transportation/logistics, professional services and information technology and healthcare.

Bowers will be OEV's third director since the department was created in March 2016. The new hire comes two months after the resignation of OEV's former director Cristina Paredes, who last month became a senior consultant at VisionFirst Advisors in Tallahassee.

Planning, Land Management, and Community Enhancement Department (PLACE) Director Ben Pingree alerted city and county officials regarding the new hire for OEV in an Aug. 10 email obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat. Records indicate Bowers will receive a starting salary of $129,000 per year.

When asked why he was interested in the position, Bowers said it was an opportune time to lead the five-year strategic plan in place at OEV.

“It’s an exciting opportunity to be part of growing Tallahassee and Leon County and making a difference for all segments of our economic ecosystem here,” Bowers told the Democrat. “It’s a huge opportunity to lean in and continue my career of community service.”

More than a dozen confidential and active projects in the works

Bowers has more than three decades in economic development, including 26 years in Tallahassee.

Most recently, he worked for 12 years as the regional director of the Small Business Development Center at Florida A&M University, where he also earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1989.

Bowers, 55, managed programs that led to the creation of 14,400 new jobs and increased business’ sales revenues by a cumulative $1.6 billion.

After graduating college, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served as a captain in the United States Army Reserves and adjutant general of the Joint Detention Operations Group in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and also Captain and Commander of U.S. Army Postal Operations in Bosnia, according to the SBDC's website.

The Panama City native has lived in Tallahassee for more than 25 years. He told the Democrat many pieces are starting to come together, adding “we’re in a position to articulate our value proposition in terms of the resources we have in our community.”

OEV, he said, will have a singular focus: improving the landscape of opportunity and leveraging the community’s vast war chest of resources to breed more opportunities.

Specifically, he mentioned the universities and higher education institutions and targeted industries, including transportation and logistics at the Tallahassee International Airport, which he said is “turning a corner there.”

“I just think people are starting to see, based on the work that OEV and the leadership at the city and county, they positioned us to be successful going forward,” Bowers said. “People are really starting to look at Tallahassee as a viable place to do business.”

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OEV currently has 14 active and confidential projects on the table that could be major job creators if they proceed.

Bowers said Tallahassee has a “great opportunity” to be creative and innovative in its approach toward spurring more economic development and targeted industries. A regional approach, he said, will be essential moving forward.

“There are some great and exciting projects in the pipeline,” Bowers said.

Getting beyond the controversial Doak deal

While he'll be in charge of leading OEV's business building mission, the department has been under fire this year after city and county commissioners narrowly voted to give $27 million earmarked for economic development to Florida State University for improvements at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The issue has divided the community, with some saying the university can front the bill itself. Others say the funding allocation was appropriate because FSU is a leading economic development driver for the region.

While this issue has dominated the election cycle, Bowers said his focus on day one will be executing the strategic plan.

“The issues surrounding Doak Campbell: it was decided, and a decision has been made," he said. "My mission going forward will be to continue to make sure all of our assets are being utilized, and we’re getting the return on investments that we anticipated.”

More: In their own words: How each elected official explained their vote on divisive Doak deal

He prefers to focus on moving the community forward than looking back.

“The decision was made by the (Intergovernmental Agency), which consists of the mayor and the city commissioners and the county commissioners,” Bowers said. “They make the decisions. OEV’s job is to implement that decision to make sure the community benefits that have been identified come to fruition.”

Pingree on Bowers: He 'blew the doors off the competition'

OEV plays a critical role in steering Tallahassee's economic landscape. Since its inception, the department estimates it has played a role in creating 2,900 jobs with an economic impact of more than $430 million.

It's one of the only economic development departments in Florida with an in-house outreach focused on Minority, Women and Small Business (MWSBE), resulting in the certification of more than 300 businesses.

Four finalists were interviewed for OEV's top position that's been vacant for two months.

The search committee consisted of Pingree, retired IBM executive Steve Evans, Assistant City Manager Wayne Tedder, Assistant County Administrator Ken Morris and OEV Deputy for Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise Darryl Jones, who's also a Leon County School Board member.

In an interview with the Democrat, Pingree said the search committee was willing to go “as wide and as a long as would be needed to get a true national caliber candidate for this position.”

“We knew we needed to get a world class leader to replace Cristina, and we were going to take whatever time necessary to do that,” Pingree said.

Pingree said Bowers "blew the doors off the competition."

“He was completely prepared, in terms of his work experience, not even just for the interview. What was obvious was that he has a history of a proven performance in creating jobs, expanding economic vitality for the clients that he’s served in the last decade, for example, and building economic growth, including for minority and small businesses.”

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter. 

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality names new director