In early June, Jefferson Moss became the new executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO). We caught up with him recently to learn of his first impressions and priorities.

Prior to GOEO, Moss served as majority leader in the Utah House of Representatives; the associate commissioner of innovation, commercialization and economic development for the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE); and as managing director of the Utah Innovation Fund. He will continue in a leadership role with USHE in addition to leading GOEO.

‍In your first two months at GOEO, what if any surprises have you had, and what's impressed you the most?

As a legislator, I had a good perspective, but getting a chance to know the team and understand all the things we are working on has been really useful. There's a lot of things that we're doing, and we’ve got great people here — a great team of folks that are really working hard. My hope is that we continue the great trajectory of the state and continue to drive GOEO forward.  

What's your Utah elevator speech to site selectors, companies, and VCs?

I’ve had a chance to practice my elevator speech several times since starting at GOEO. One was at the BIO International Convention, a big life sciences conference in Boston. I really appreciated the number of Utah companies that were out there, making great relationships and connections. I also appreciated just how well-known Utah is among people from all over the world. Specifically, a woman from Australia reached out to us proactively and said, “I'm just hearing all these great things about Utah, and why we need to consider it.”

It’s very cool that Utah is becoming that well known, that people see us as an up-and-coming business destination.

I also attended Utah’s trade mission to the United Kingdom. Again, the “aha” moment came in a meeting with people in economic development, venture capital, and academia. One of their leading scholars on artificial intelligence (AI) talked about the “Utah model” in AI. He's an international expert and spoke of how Utah is the leader when it comes to AI legislation and creating the right framework. Around the world, people are watching what Utah's doing.  

My pitch is that Utah is special because 1) we have the best economy in the country; 2) we work well together; and 3) we are very business friendly. The simplest answer is that we're one of the most stable states in the country. In the world we live in, that's a huge deal. Businesses are looking for stability. ‍

You played a significant role in the state legislature. What is your message to legislative peers when you meet them nowadays?

Thankfully, I have a lot of good friends there, so it's always fun to catch up. As a legislator, you get the opportunity to run policy or fund things. I love to tell my peers that I'm anxious and excited to be on this side of it — implementing and executing the legislature’s priorities. Having that perspective from my time in the legislature, I think, is very helpful. Building on those relationships, we can do a lot of good things together.  

Part of my message is that we represent the Governor, and we’re excited to partner and play a more active role. Not just in terms of recruiting and retention of companies — we want to play a more active role in supporting Utah’s business ecosystem.

The other part of my message is about coordination. I’m going to focus on bringing all the different efforts and initiatives together, so that GOEO is playing a quarterback role. ‍

Given your background with USHE, talk about innovation and how it fits in your overall economic development strategy going forward.

Our state has incredible opportunities spanning aerospace and defense, life sciences, AI, and quantum energy. Given my background at USHE, I've seen a lot of the efforts to get these technologies commercialized. I've seen businesses that are leveraging our higher education assets, and I understand how critical the workforce is in terms of propelling new innovations.

When I took that job at USHE, the first thing I did was visit some of the top innovation hubs in the world. I wanted to learn from the hubs that have taken economically blighted regions and turned them into amazing economic engines — places like Kendall Square in Boston. I wanted to understand the secret sauce that got them to be where they are.

What I found is that it's the intersection between government, education, and industry that fueled their economic engine. We’re doing a good job in Utah, but I think we can do even better. Utah’s secret sauce is that we work well together, so how do we get everybody more united and rowing in the same direction? We're doing great things in different areas, but we don't fully understand or appreciate how the different areas fit into the bigger picture.  

AI is an example. There's a policy perspective in terms of creating the right regulatory environment. There's a workforce effort, a critical need. There's the venture capital startup ecosystem, also critical. Having sat in all of those seats, I know we can tighten alignment to be more successful. I see the same with these other areas.

Something that I'm excited and passionate about is bridging that gap between Utah’s universities, venture capital, and the entrepreneurial community. GOEO can play an important role in bringing those constituencies together and driving innovation. It's not about a big idea. It's creating the right environment to spur innovation. It's that intersection of innovation —getting the right groups of people together that will drive new ideas.  

What sector excites you the most right now?

At GOEO, we love all of the industries that contribute to Utah’s economy. But I do think there are unique opportunities in AI and healthcare, deploying genomics to alleviate people's health issues. Look at the University of Utah. At the Scientific and Computing Institute, they're doing some really cool cutting-edge AI. Additionally, we've got Huntsman Cancer Institute and Intermountain Health doing incredible things.  

How can we leverage those efforts and create the right regulatory environment? Utah has unique advantages in genomics so it’s a matter of leveraging genomic technology the right way within a safe environment, making sure that we're following all the right processes regarding data, privacy and other critical areas. That kind of coordination is not happening in a lot of areas around the country. Utah could be a leader in that space.  

There are other opportunities in aerospace and defense, with what's happening at Hill Air Force Base. We're getting a lot of businesses following the lead of Northrop Grumman in and around Falcon Hill Aerospace Research Park, and we're seeing a huge influx of startups or new businesses coming into Utah to capitalize on the great ecosystem we have there.  

A third opportunity that excites me is energy. Utah has a rich abundance of energy, and forty of the top fifty critical minerals are in Utah. We've created the right regulatory environment so we can move quickly. We're going to be one of the first states to move into small modular nuclear reactors. Utah can move faster than most states can — and in the era of AI, where energy demands are high, that agility positions us to lead.   ‍

How would you define economic success for Utah? How might that evolve under your leadership at GOEO?

Obviously, there are quantifiable measurements that we can look at in terms of outcomes. But stepping back, we're the beneficiaries of things people did 20 years ago. Those actions are why we're in the economy we're in today.  

I want to make sure that with the next 10 to 20 years in mind, we're making the right decisions and investments, whether it be regarding innovation, workforce initiatives, or infrastructure. If we focus only on the economy in the near term, we're somewhat backward looking. If we're looking forward, we’ll continue to support the great economy that we have. ‍

What specific ways would you like to see GOEO partner with EDCUtah and other public-private groups to amplify the collective impact?

It's great that we have our former GOEO executive director Ryan Starks at EDCUtah. That partnership is critical. EDCUtah plays an important role in helping us on the front end by talking to companies interested in Utah. He and I are meeting regularly to coordinate closely.

The collective effort is even broader. One of the things that I'm very passionate about is making sure that we're collaborative across multiple areas. We’re located next to the World Trade Center Utah, and we have some incredible partnerships on the public side with the Inland Port, the Point, and the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). The more we can bring those efforts together and break down silos, the better.

We are also tightly coordinating with other state agencies. We work closely with the Department of Commerce on the AI side, as an example. We want to actively support the  Office of Energy Development’s work as part of Gov. Cox’s vision to strengthen Utah through Operation Gigawatt and other key energy initiatives.

On the private side, we're going to put a big emphasis on industry clusters, particularly in the matter of workforce development. Every single company we talk to has expressed the workforce as one of the biggest things they care about. As industries and education become more innovative, we need to be nimble in how we support initiatives like Talent Ready Utah and Utah’s universities.

And statewide, we have so many different economic development groups. I've been on a city council in the past and there’s a risk that economic development becomes a zero-sum game of who can give the best incentives. It can become a race to the bottom that benefits no one. There's a way that we can coordinate and be more strategic. One of my top priorities is collaborating with our cities, counties, economic developers, and EDCUtah to attract high-quality investments to Utah.  ‍

What are your goals for GOEO over the next six to 12 months?

It’s a matter of stepping back over the next four to six months to take stock. I'm going to be convening a group of stakeholders and partners like EDCUtah, businesses that we've worked with, and state agencies. We’ll reassess: What is GOEO’s core mission? Why do we exist? What are we trying to do? And then we’ll ask, “Where are the gaps? What are we not doing right?”

It's important that we have a very targeted plan, a good five-to10-year plan. We're doing a lot of great things, but I want it to be more targeted and deliberative in why we're doing the things we're doing.  

We are putting together working groups to redefine GOEO’s purpose and role. It's not a major shift —we are simply ensuring we're stay on course and align our resources effectively.  

“Building Together” highlights examples of the collective impact of your investment and EDCUtah’s work in communities across the state. Do you have a story you’d like us to share? Email connect@edcutah.org.