Evan Brown, Executive Director Of Edge At The Oklahoma Department Of Commerce

Evan Brown serves arsenic nan Executive Director of EDGE (Economic Development Growth and Expansion) astatine nan Oklahoma Department of Commerce. With erstwhile roles arsenic Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy Director of Business Development and Legislative Director astatine nan Department of Commerce, Evan brings a wealthiness of acquisition successful nationalist work and economical strategy. At EDGE, he leads initiatives to thrust business maturation and grow economical opportunities statewide, pinch a beardown accent connected attracting exertion companies to Oklahoma.
Evan has helped beforehand Oklahoma’s position arsenic a competitory hub for tech investment—highlighted by Google’s caller onshore acquisition for a early information center, a cardinal milestone successful nan state’s ongoing push to pull invention and high-tech manufacture growth.

Let’s commencement pinch nan large news—Google has acquired onshore successful Stillwater, Oklahoma for a early information halfway campus. Can you show america really this task came to life and what it intends for nan section and authorities economy?

Google has called Oklahoma location for complete a decade, investing $4.4 cardinal successful its information halfway astatine MidAmerica Industrial Park successful Pryor, Oklahoma. The institution has been a awesome partner pinch nan state, some employing hundreds of Oklahomans and giving backmost to nan section organization wherever it is located. Google has besides continued to put successful STEM acquisition by awarding grants to schools and different organizations, which besides helps guarantee a dependable workforce pipeline for years to come.

Oklahoma was specifically named arsenic a beneficiary of nan $20 cardinal overseas finance aimed astatine boosting AI and unreality technology. What makes Oklahoma specified a strategical location for this benignant of development?

Oklahoma’s cardinal location, affordable power costs and committedness to being nan astir business-friendly authorities successful nan federation make it cleanable for immoderate important investment. Our authorities is ever unfastened for business, offering incentives and state-of-the-art infrastructure for caller and expanding companies. Businesses only request to telephone us, and we will show them precisely why Oklahoma is nan correct authorities for them to turn aliases expand.

In 2023, Oklahoma saw 71 announcements for caller and expanding companies. What trends are you seeing successful nan types of businesses choosing Oklahoma, and what’s driving this momentum?

Not only is Oklahoma nan cleanable location for caller exertion companies, but it is besides becoming a hub for nationalist defense. We person 5 subject installations that nan Department of Defense continues to put in, and our squad is besides moving connected aggregate defense manufacturing projects that could bring much than 1,000 jobs and $1 cardinal successful investment. We person Long Wave, an Oklahoma City-based company, which was precocious awarded a subcontract to thief create nan Navy’s caller aircraft. The statement is for hundreds of millions of dollars complete six years, and they are adding 150 caller jobs. We are besides taking steps to onshore captious mineral manufacturing successful nan U.S., reducing nan nation’s dependence connected different countries. In Stillwater, we person USA Rare Earth, America’s first uncommon world metallic manufacturing facility. They produced their first batch of magnets earlier this year. There’s besides Stardust Power, a lithium refining company, that collapsed crushed connected a $1.2 cardinal refinery successful Muskogee earlier this year.

Google’s determination reflects assurance successful Oklahoma’s infrastructure. Could you elaborate connected what makes nan state’s infrastructure peculiarly well-suited for large-scale information centers?

It each comes down to our affordable power and business-friendly policies. Data centers require a ample magnitude of energy, and correct now, we nutrient 60% much power than we devour successful Oklahoma. Communities besides person nan expertise to activity straight pinch these companies to travel up pinch designated powerfulness procreation for information halfway improvement aliases different projects.

With power costs astir 20% beneath nan nationalist mean and a #1 ranking from CNBC for costs of doing business, Oklahoma is intelligibly competitive. How are you leveraging these strengths successful your economical improvement strategy?

In Oklahoma, we nutrient 60% much power than we consume, and that’s a immense advantage erstwhile recruiting information centers aliases different akin high-energy-consuming businesses. Our grid is reliable because we are members of nan Southwest Power Pull, truthful we don’t acquisition nan rolling blackouts you spot successful immoderate parts of nan country. Our extremity is to beryllium nan astir business-friendly authorities successful nan country. We are centrally located, we person nan furthest inland larboard successful nan country, authorities activity is committed to cutting reddish tape, we person affordable energy, and we connection nonstop entree to authorities leadership.

The SITES Program has been instrumental successful identifying business and mega sites crossed nan state. How does this programme work, and really has it helped pull projects for illustration Google’s?

SITES stands for Supporting Industrial Transformation and Economic Success. It’s our measurement of partnering pinch communities crossed nan authorities to proactively reside infrastructure needs to meet nan request of existing businesses and companies looking to found operations successful Oklahoma. Communities tin use if they person a tract pinch infrastructure needs, and if selected, we partner pinch nan organization to thief screen immoderate of nan costs of those improvements. This shows companies looking to grow aliases move to Oklahoma that nan authorities is committed to having a tract fresh for them to get operations up and moving arsenic quickly arsenic possible. It besides shows Oklahoma communities that nan authorities is committed to investing successful their organization and preparing them for economical growth. It’s for illustration erstwhile you’re shopping for a caller home. We want nan business to spot its imaginable spot, autumn successful emotion pinch nan tract and community, and beryllium excited astir moving in.

How is Oklahoma preparing its talent pipeline—especially successful areas for illustration tech and precocious manufacturing—to meet nan demands of these caller investments?

We are committed to ensuring each student who graduates precocious schoolhouse is college-ready aliases career-ready. We person schools for illustration nan Aviation Academy successful Norman, wherever precocious schoolers tin activity towards their aviator licence aliases method certificates successful aviation maintenance. We are taking steps to grow internships and apprenticeship programs while besides building partnerships betwixt schools and businesses. Oklahoma has a terrific CareerTech system, which helps companies understand nan skills they request and incorporates that accusation successful nan classroom.

Stillwater's collaboration pinch aggregate section partners was basal to securing this project. What lessons tin different cities aliases states study from this successful public-private partnership?

We understand nan worth of nationalist and backstage partnerships. Economic improvement is not done successful a silo. It’s not authorities aliases community; it’s authorities partnering pinch communities to understand their needs and desires for growth. We must intentionally put successful beardown relationships crossed our authorities done elected officials and organization partners to guarantee we thoroughly understand nan assets. If we are retired pitching to a institution that Oklahoma is nan spot to be, we person to understand each of our assets truthful we tin thief link a business to nan organization that champion fits their needs.

How do you spot this Google finance shaping nan early of economical improvement successful Oklahoma? Could it pave nan measurement for akin tech-focused initiatives aliases companies to follow?

We understand that nan free marketplace creates jobs, not nan government. We don’t want to put our thumb connected nan standard and prime winners and losers. Because of our business-friendly policies and advantages successful power and different areas, we’ve created an situation wherever entrepreneurs and businesses tin thrive. We get play calls from information centers, uncommon world businesses, and different tech-focused companies willing successful Oklahoma and perchance uncovering a organization partner that would champion fresh their needs.

Looking ahead, what’s your imagination for Oklahoma’s domiciled successful nan nationalist economy, particularly arsenic AI, unreality computing, and integer infrastructure proceed to grow?

Governor Kevin Stitt ever says he wants to return Oklahoma to nan world and bring nan world backmost to Oklahoma. In 2024 alone, our squad hosted 19 consulate representatives, 2 ambassadors, and a Crown Prince. We coordinated 8 world outbound missions to countries for illustration South Korea and Japan and assisted pinch six world MOU agreements. We are moving to build relationships straight betwixt Oklahoma and different countries.