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.
Texas’ export activity is the gift that keeps on giving
For the 20th consecutive year, Texas tops the list of states for the amount of exports as measured in dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). As of December 2021, Texas exports for the year totaled $375.3…
Read More Industry SectorsBecoming North America’s semiconductor hub is good for Texas
Texas is poised to become the semiconductor hub of North America, thanks in large part to the leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott and our elected leaders in Washington, D.C. In July, U.S. Congress passed the CHIPS for America Act to…
Read More Quality of Life‘Small town’ Texas is booming
Population growth in Texas’s big metro areas grabs so much of the attention when we think about population growth across the state. And in the recent past, growth in metro suburbs has generated a lot of buzz. But as a…
Read More InfrastructureI-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
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 and coaches who…
Read More Workforce and 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 InfrastructureTexas 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…
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