Mike Briggs, President & CEO of the Central SC Alliance

MidlandsBiz:
What is the mission of the Alliance?

Mike Briggs: 
We are in the business of attracting jobs and capital investment to the center part of the state of South Carolina.  We work closely with the South Carolina Department of Commerce to actively search for companies looking to come to this region, invest bricks and mortar, hire local people to make goods and services, ship their wares off to somewhere else, so that other people’s money will flow back into this region.  That is the process of wealth creation. 

Our focus is on manufacturing and distribution, back office and research and development projects (R&D), as well as corporate headquarters; we do not work with commercial or retail projects.  We are a 501 c (3) organization under the IRS.

MidlandsBiz:
How do you measure your success?

Mike Briggs:
Since 1994, we have been involved with projects that have committed to invest $7.5 billion dollars in new capital and have created 46,000 jobs for this region.

MidlandsBiz:
Talk a little about the evolution of the Alliance.

Mike Briggs: 
Prior to 1994, a department of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce represented Richland, Newberry, Lexington, and Fairfield counties, as well as the City of Columbia in their economic development efforts.  In 1994, area business leadership made the decision to pull the economic development function out of the Chamber to create an autonomous entity with its own leadership and funding.  We were incorporated in 1994 as the Central Carolina Economic Development Alliance.  Great name, but hard to tell which state it is in when you answer the telephone.  We changed our name to Central SC Alliance five years ago and moved into the Capital Center at 1201 Main St. 

Today, we represent twelve counties in the center part of the state of South Carolina as well as the City of Columbia, and the University of South Carolina.  Kershaw County joined in 1996; Calhoun County in 1999, Clarendon, Sumter, Lee, and Orangeburg joined in 2003; and McCormick and Saluda counties came into the fold in 2004.

MidlandsBiz:
There are a number of different economic development agencies and alliances around the state.  Do they all have the same function? 

Mike Briggs: 
We are the oldest and the largest.  We are also a full service agency whose role extends beyond simply the marketing of the region to include research, project management and administration, product development, incentive negotiation etc.   We also do project performance analysis, labor analysis, RFP response and new and existing industry assistance. 

MidlandsBiz:
Why has there been a trend towards counties getting together to form economic development alliances?

Mike Briggs:
By sharing and pooling resources we are able to achieve a critical mass for promoting this region.  Site consultants don’t see county lines when they are choosing to locate somewhere.  When we walk into a prospects office, we understand that they are literally looking at site alternatives all over the world.  What does our small part of the world have to offer?   A million people, 7,500 square miles, 25% of the size of the state of South Carolina, with Columbia the state capital right in the middle of it.  That is a much more marketable and recognizable product than 12 separate, independent counties.   

In our region, each morning over a hundred thousand people get up and leave their home counties to work in another county.  The wealth of the entire region becomes very much interrelated; a major announcement in one area will have a direct impact on the rest of the region.

MidlandsBiz:
2008 was an interesting year economically.  The Central SC Alliance still managed to produce a steady stream of good news for the region.

Mike Briggs:   
In 2008, we had $560.5M announced investment in our region and the creation of 2,625 new jobs.  Compared to our most productive year ever of $756 M in 1999, I’d say that we are doing pretty well given the economic circumstances.   We had 42 companies choose to invest in this region in 2008.  Obviously, these investors are confident that they can build their businesses here, hire people and make a profit, and are not making their decisions based on what they see on CNN. 

MidlandsBiz:
Are any of the announced projects being put on hold or cancelled because of the economy? 
 
Mike Briggs: 
Announcements are taken very seriously, especially with publicly traded companies who often have entire departments making sure they are complying with disclosure requirements.  It would be highly unlikely that a company would arrive at the announcement stage and then pull back. 

The tightening of the credit markets has caused a few projects to be put on hold.  There is currently no money for companies that are marginal in their financing or that are heavily leveraged.  Money is also tight for start up companies looking for capital partners.  

MidlandsBiz:
How do you win projects in this highly competitive environment?

Mike Briggs:

We win because we have a tremendous product in the central sc region and we provide superior service.

MidlandsBiz:
Talk a little bit about your background and your role within the Alliance.

Mike Briggs: 
I was raised in High Point, North Carolina, left there and went to Furman University in 1969. I stayed there two years before transferring to the University of South Carolina to complete a Baccalaureate in English and a Master’s degree in Political Science. 

I spent 15 years working for a manufacturing company called Anchor Continental before accepting this position as President of the Alliance. As we have grown to represent more counties, we have doubled in the size of our organization to 12 full-time staff.  I challenge you to find a better and more dedicated group of people at any of the other economic development agencies in the country.  The staff we have here is without a doubt the key to our success. 

MidlandsBiz:
How do you lead a team like this?  What is your leadership style?

Mike Briggs:
This team is very easy to lead because they understand the value of what we are doing here.  We are fortunate to have the leadership of our chairman Jim Apple who guides the 37-member board of directors in setting the agenda to meet our goals and objectives for creating prosperity and improving the quality of life for the citizens of this region. As the President and CEO of the Alliance, my role of leading a team of seasoned professionals with over 150-years of combined economic development experience makes it very easy.  We all share the vision of helping to raise the prospect of prosperity for the families that will live and work in this region.  The vast majority of the jobs that we recruit are in excess of the average per capita income in the region of around $30,000. 

How do you lead?  You make people understand what it is they do for a living and then you empower them to go and accomplish the goals of the organization so they can achieve their own goals.  

MidlandsBiz:
How are you funded now? 

Mike Briggs: 
Each of our counties, regardless of size, invests the same amount of money on an annual basis and they also all have equal votes.  Our B
oard is comprised of 37 people, including each of the County Council Chairs, the Mayor of the City of Columbia, the President of the University of South Carolina, the President of Midlands Technical College, and the sitting head of the Airport Commission. 

Approximately 65% of our money comes from public funding and the other 35% from our major private sector investors.  We operate with a budget of about a million and a half dollars a year.

MidlandsBiz:
What are some of the strategic strengths of the region? 

Mike Briggs:
The East Coast of the United States continues to be attractive because of the continued population growth in the Southeast.  Businesses want to get closer to these markets. 

The pro-business attitude in this region also makes what we do very easy.  I constantly have people from other parts of the country, as well as from other countries, tell us how easy it to do business in this region. 

Our ability to effectively move people and product also makes us a very attractive location for business. We have 40% of the interstate infrastructure of South Carolina – interstates 77, 20, 26, and 95 – all within our footprint.  We have a great regional airport. We are proximate to an international airport in Charlotte and also the Port of Charleston.  Within our region, you can still travel 30 miles in 30 minutes.  There are not a lot of places in the world where you can still do that.  

Despite recent government cuts, we have a diverse economy that is anchored by state government, the University, county and city governments, and Fort Jackson. We have an economy that if it is not recession proof, it is at least recession resistant. 

When we did a cluster analysis in 2002, we found that the work force here in the center part of the state is more productive than the US on average.  The University and the other educational assets here, including the technical schools and the rest of the four year colleges are huge assets. 
We have a strong concentration of a highly skilled and educated labor force in this region.

MidlandsBiz:
What are the specific, strategic areas of strength that this region needs to build on in order to improve its record of wealth creation and the per capita income of its citizens?

Mike Briggs:

Based upon the cluster analysis done in 2002 we focus upon three clusters: Advanced Manufacturing, Health Care, and Information Technology among others.
The key here is to focus and build upon these industries in which we have strategic advantages in order to continue to nurture and grow our regional economy.

MidlandsBiz:
What are the challenges?

Mike Briggs: 
We struggle with the perception of Columbia as solely a government town that lacks in the availability of widespread business resources.  It is entirely untrue and a misconception that we have been able to slowly overcome through years of consistent hard work here at the Central SC Alliance. 

One of our biggest challenges, quite frankly, is ourselves.   There are those who tend to have what I call the Eeyore syndrome.  Remember Eeyore?  Probably going to rain!.  Some tend to be guilty of a lack of appreciation of the good things going on right under our noses. 

MidlandsBiz:
What is the best way to promote economic development?  Is it through tax incentives or are there other alternatives?

Mike Briggs: 
All of the incentives in South Carolina are performance-based – they reward growth and profitability.  If the county agrees to offer a property tax incentive, there has to be a critical level of financial investment and assurances that the company will continue to operate, and therefore be taxed in this state. 

The best way to promote economic development is to make your prospects understand how well the business model works in the region.  Incentives tend to function as a tie breaker if you are in the running for a project.  Can I find skilled employees? Is the cost of doing business competitive? and can I make money here?  Those are the key questions that prospective companies ask.  If the answer to all of those questions is yes, then they will have usually narrowed down their choice to between three or five communities.  At that point, IF you have developed a relationship with the customer and delivered on the customer service, then you can consider yourself fortunate enough to make these types of announcements: 

October 7, 2008 – The South Carolina Department of Commerce, Newberry County, and the Central S.C. Alliance today announced that Rollcast Energy Inc. will establish Loblolly Green Power LLC, a new biomass facility in Newberry County, and Santee Cooper will purchase the 50 megawatts of renewable power that this new facility produces as a significant enhancement to the utility’s existing renewable energy programs. 
Loblolly Green Power will be the first such facility in South Carolina generating commercially available renewable power.  The $170 million investment is expected to generate 27 new permanent jobs and be operational by late 2011.