President and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC). TxEDC’s mission is to promote Texas as the premier state to locate or expand the business and to offer insight and key resources to advisers and decision-makers. Follow Robert and TxEDC on Twitter at @GoBiginTexas.
I-27 expansion to be game-changer for Texas trade
In Texas, a state that encompasses 268,597 square miles — more territory than the country of France — a network of more than 313,000 miles of public highways helps stitch together an impressive economic network. The thousands of miles of…
Read More Industry SectorsTexas’s energy sector goes beyond oil and gas
If Texas were a country — and many of us feel like it already is — it would rank fourth in the world for crude oil production, behind the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Overall, Texas reigns as the…
Read More Economic DevelopmentDecade of dominance: Texas wins its 10th consecutive Governor’s Cup
By ROBERT ALLEN Texas is going to need a bigger trophy case. Sports teams win trophies for accomplishments big and small, but championship trophies are the singular physical representation of a team’s season’s worth of hard work and dedication. Players…
Read More EducationTexas adds Tier 1, Tier 2 universities in 2021
December 2021 ended a challenging year, but it also brought some good news in terms of Texas’s ability to deliver high-quality and skilled talent for years to come. The Dec. 15 announcement that Baylor University and The University of Texas…
Read More Quality of LifeCEOs say they wish they’d made the move to Texas a decade ago
A lot has been written and said about companies and people relocating from California to Texas, but I wanted to know what it was really like for a CEO who actually made the move. Recently, I had the opportunity to…
Read More Economic DevelopmentHard work by regional partners helps spur Central Texas growth
I recently had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at one of our Regional Business Summits in Round Rock, Texas. After the event, I could not help but feel energized and excited about all the positive things happening in…
Read More TransportationTexas leads in export trade in 2021 due to unique factors
At mid-year 2021, Texas leads the nation in export trade — with $171.9 billion as of June 2021. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows that Texas has been the nation’s No. 1 state for exports for…
Read More Quality of LifeEntrepreneurship is a Texas state of mind
I inherited the famous Texas state of mind. The son of a lawyer by trade, I was born and raised in Dallas. So I grew up looking at the Lone Star State in a distinct way, a view celebrated in…
Read More Workforce and DevelopmentTexas’ workforce beats the competition
Texas is among a handful of states that boasts a tax-friendly business climate. But our state has the edge on other states, even those that also have no state income tax: the Texas workforce is best and one of the…
Read More Workforce and DevelopmentTexas workforce strategy key to strong economy
If Texas were a country, it would be the 9th largest in the world. We achieved that incredible statistic through a diverse economy, teamwork among our economic developers — and the second largest workforce in the nation. At 14 million…
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