Government affairs roundtable.

• Author: Bicknell, Lindsay
• Position: Discussion

This month, Utah Business partnered with Holland & Hart to host a roundtable event featuring economic development leaders to discuss business incentives, infrastructure, and economic growth. Moderated by Val Hale, executive director at GOED, here are a few highlights from the event.

As local business leaders, how does business attraction benefit local businesses?

Mike Flynn | COO | EDCUtah

In a nutshell, these companies move into the state and they do all

sorts of things that engage the economy, from leasing real estate, to buying dirt, to building buildings, to incorporating getting loans, to buying furniture. The full suite of business services these companies need to access when they're moving into a market. So as far as our private sector membership, I think there's a big interest to try and enter that supply chain and make sure that there are goods and services made available to these companies.

There are a number of interesting byproducts of this pandemic. How do you see this new normal shaping up after the pandemic is over?

Derek Miller | President & CEO | Salt Lake Chamber

I think the great opportunity that Utah has is the disconnection that we're seeing during the pandemic between where my job is located and where I'm located. People are realizing they can have their job in Silicon Valley but live in Silicon Slopes. We're going to look back in 10 or 15 years and view what's happening right now as another major shift. We saw a major shift right after the Olympics, we saw a major shift during the Great Recession, and now we're experiencing another major shift.

Thomas Wadsworth | Associate Managing Director | GOED

I think historically, as we have gone around the country talking to different companies, they've been very excited about the business environment in Utah. But one thing that's traditionally held people back is the lack of confidence that they could manage remote teams. And due to this pandemic, I think everyone's been forced to learn how to manage remote teams. I think individuals have developed a new skill set that will give corporations more confidence that they can manage remote teams around the country.

Marlin Eldred | Director of Economic Development | City of Lehi

I'm labeling it, the third, the third, and the third. We're seeing businesses that are wanting a third of the employee base back in the office, a third of the employee base home and office, and a third of the employee base work from home. So from my...