5Q: Stefan Pryor | Secretary of commerce, Rhode Island
1. What was it like being president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. in the aftermath of 9/11? That was one of the hardest and … most rewarding efforts that I’ve been a part of. Recovering successfully from the attacks on 9/11 was enormously important for Lower Manhattan and for the nation. Thanks to the hard work of a lot of stakeholders and partners, there has been tremendous progress in downtown Manhattan.
2. You’re Rhode Island’s first secretary of commerce. Why did you take the job? When [then-gubernatorial] candidate Gina M. Raimondo called and suggested we explore working together, we discussed the fact that this state had the highest unemployment rate in America for eight months in 2013 and 2014. This was inexplicable to me given the assets the state has.
3. What’s the status of the Innovation Campus initiative to turn academic research into commercial opportunities? On Dec. 18, we designated the first round of successful RI Innovation Campus proposals – three partnerships that will turn academic research at the University of Rhode Island, as well as other universities, into new commercial products, businesses and, ultimately, job opportunities for Rhode Islanders. These collaborations have the potential to enhance and grow our economy in areas from cybersecurity to agricultural technology [and] data analytics.
4. What role do you see Commerce RI playing in developing Rhode Island’s 25 opportunity zones, where tax incentives are provided for investments in those areas? We have already started to showcase these zones to potential investors through a newly launched website [
https://rhodeislandopportunity.com]. Additionally, we recently hosted a webinar with more than 55 interested municipal officials and stakeholders, helping them to gear up. … We have also been advocating at the federal level to ensure that the program works.
5. Do you think providing companies with government incentives is the only way to build the economy? Of course not – the economic-development strategy under Gov. Raimondo offers various types of support to businesses, including but not limited to incentives, and, at the same time, aims to get government out of the way of business when possible. … And, yes, we’ve also created one of the most responsible and effective incentive programs in the country.
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com.
