By Kyle Backer | AZBigMedia
On Feb. 23, Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), spoke to members of Valley Partnership about the ACA’s successful economic development efforts, the billions of dollar in investment coming to Arizona, Arizona’s growing profile on the international stage and new education opportunities to meet workforce demands.
Established in 2011, the ACA is a public-private agency and the state’s leading economic development organization. Recently, the ACA has been scrutinized for its spending related to hosting CEOs for business attraction efforts. The agency is up for reauthorization under the state’s sunset review process and HB 2417 seeks to extend the ACA until July 1, 2028.
“We have seen tremendous expansion opportunities and growth in our semiconductor industry,” Watson says. “We are so fortunate with not only having Intel, one of the leaders in the semiconductor industry, but also attracting TSMC, which is clearly the global leader in the semiconductor industry.”
