Modex keynote: Ambassador Nikki Haley touts states’ role in business growth

In Monday morning’s keynote session, former United Nations (U.N.) Ambassador Nikki Haley emphasized the role state governments can take in energizing business growth through steps including educating the workforce and improving logistics infrastructure.

A former governor of South Carolina, Haley’s session was a conversation format moderated by Mitch MacDonald, group editorial director of DC Velocity. In her comments, Haley said she was proud of the $20 billion in new capital investment under her leadership in South Carolina and the resulting moniker the state’s economy gained as the “Beast of the Southeast.”

Haley said three key ways the state grew the economy was by retraining workers for emerging jobs; by recruiting and partnering with international companies to come to the state; and by improving infrastructure including port facilities. Of the workers retrained under efforts to attract new international business investment in the state, 98% ended up being hired. Economic growth, Haley said, “starts at the state level.”

Another key to growing a state’s economy, Haley said, is by helping small businesses from a customer service perspective. One of the first things she did as governor, Haley said, was to instruct state administrators they needed to do all they could to save time for business people because “if you’re costing businesses time, you’re costing them money.”

For their part, companies need to get comfortable with the fast pace of change to thrive, Haley advised. “That’s the beauty of business,” Haley said. “You have to keep changing; you can never get comfortable.”

Modex 2020 is scheduled to be held March 9-12 at Georgia’s World Congress Center in Atlanta. The tradeshow will showcase the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the materials handling and logistics industry. Modern’s complete coverage of the show.