Top Ten SC Leaders in 2015

By Alan Cooper
Publisher, MidlandsBiz

 

The following is a recap of comments that I made on the South Carolina Business Review with Mike Switzer.

 

It has been an eventful, challenging year in South Carolina.  But in times of tragedy, we often see leaders come to the forefront and mobilize others to achieve extraordinary results, who transform visions into realities and values into actions.  Here are ten people that I believe should be recognized for their leadership in South Carolina in 2015.  Out of adversity, leadership.

The shootings in Charleston were a painful shock to this state. When we all feared the worst in terms of a reaction, the outpouring of love and forgiveness became an inspiration for the whole world. A victim of the crime, Senator Clementa Pinckney, led a life that was characterized by humility, faith, intelligence and a commitment to the less fortunate in South Carolina. It was these values that prevailed. I read somewhere that the City of Charleston was considered for the Nobel Peace prize.

 

In the aftermath of the Charleston shooting at the AME Emmanuel Church, South Carolina decided to take down the Confederate flag on the ground of the statehouse.  I admire the leadership of Gov. Nikki Haley for having the courage to step up and start the process and the legislators in the General Assembly for finishing it.  That truly was an extraordinary result and one that I thought I would never see in my lifetime.

 

 

After 40 years in office, Mayor Joe Riley will be retiring in the New Year.  His leadership in the great City of Charleston has been a huge reason why Charleston has become the internationally known city that it is. In 1975 when Joe Riley took office, Charleston was beset with problems such as crime, race relations, and believe it or not, a downtown that was dying.  Today it is probably the nicest, best pedestrian friendly downtown in the country.

Mayor Joe was also a tower of strength during the shootings.  If you can’t give the Nobel Peace prize to a city, how about Joe Riley?

This year we also witnessed the 1,000-year flood in the Midlands and other parts of the state.  I admire the leadership of Mayor Steve Benjamin through that difficult time.

 

 

 

Major General Robert E. Livingston, Jr. serves as head of the S.C. Military Department and as Adjutant General.  In this capacity, he administers the affairs of the Army and Air National Guard, the Emergency Management Division, and the State Guard.  General Livingston coordinated over 500 complex and often risky missions during the flood.  The operations peaked between Oct 8-11 when there were over 4,100 personnel on the ground.

A couple of amazing facts:

• 28 lives saved by Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Teams
• 11 lives saved by boat rescue
• More than 3,000 individuals evacuated using High Water Transport vehicles
• Nearly 1.8 million gallons of water purified to support 3 hospitals in Columbia, preventing patients from need to evacuate
• The National Guard helped pump 60,000 gallons water from flooded downtown Columbia.

Talk about being able to mobilize others for great results.

Our state continues to attract top companies from around the world to locate here and do business.  Last May, Volvo announced that it was establishing its first ever western hemisphere manufacturing plant in Berkeley County, a $500M investment that will create 4,000 jobs. They are coming to South Carolina because of the easy access to international ports, a well-trained labor force, an attractive investment environment and our growing experience in the high-tech manufacturing sector. South Carolina has been able deepen its sources of competitive advantage, its clusters, over the past decade. South Carolina today is home to more than 250 automotive-related companies and suppliers and leads the nation in the export of both tires and automobiles.  I am proud of the achievements of Secretary of Commerce, Bobby Hitt, in continuing the momentum of establishing South Carolina as the “beast of the southeast”, a great place to do business. We are the envy of North Carolina.

But it’s not just foreign direct investment that is robust, there is a growing entrepreneurial class across the state. Mayor Benjamin often talks about making Columbia the most entrepreneurial city in the southeast. Charleston has a vibrant, dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem and is becoming more and more “Silicon Harbor”.  Check out our website for interviews with Nate DaPore of People Matter, Earl Bridges of Good Done Great, Grier Allen of BoomTown, Hunter Stunzi of SnapCap, start ups that are trying to emulate the incredible success of companies like Blackbaud and Benefitfocus.  Check out our interview with Ryan Alford from the Upstate, the entrepreneur behind iDrive on Demand, a company that is changing how we buy used cars. I admire the leadership of SCRA President Bill Mahoney in his direct support of knowledge-based companies in this state.

The result is a state that is growing with a low unemployment rate of 5.6%.  We experienced 3.3% private sector growth this past year and total job growth of 2.9%.  The two fastest growing sectors were:

• Construction – up 7.5% (look around the state and you see lots of cranes, lots of building activity)
• Professional and business services (a good barometer for the knowledge economy) – up 6.3%

We also saw +11,300 jobs in the Trade, Transportation & Utilities sector.

 

I admire the success of the Clemson football program.  It’s a great achievement for a SC team to be in the four team playoff and one that brings great recognition to the state.  Clemson’s soccer team also reached the national final before losing.  I admire the leadership and enthusiasm of Dabo Swinney.  As a Gamecock fan (and dad) it is very hard to say this, but Go Tigers.

 

 

   Furman University’s Riley Institute hosts an annual event that recognizes both civic and political leadership.  Their event this year is Tuesday, January 12 at the Convention Center in Columbia.  This year they will be honoring Clementa Pinckney as well as Gov. Haley and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley with David Wilkins Awards in Excellence.  I admire the leadership qualities of Gov. Dick Riley for founding the Riley Institute and the Furman Diversity Leadership program that takes place across the state.  I admire the Institute’s Executive Director, Don Gordon, for tirelessly promoting dialogue and diversity in South Carolina.  Is there a more important topic in today’s world, in South Carolina, than diversity?

These are all leaders who came to the forefront and mobilized others to achieve extraordinary results, transformed visions into realities and values into actions.

 

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