Idaho Commerce Director Jim Ellick says Idaho must compete with other states for tech jobs
Jan. 9--Visit Idaho's new Commerce Director Jim Ellick, and one of the first things he'll point to on his bookshelf is a photo of the Kool-Aid's cartoon pitcher face with a big "X" through it.
There's nothing humorous about the meaning Ellick draws from the symbolism.
"There's no Kool-Aid drinking around here," Ellick says. "The facts are the facts, and people can deal with them or not. I'm a business guy -- life is what it is."
Ellick's appointment by Gov. Butch Otter was a surprise to many. Ellick met the governor through Otter's son at a fundraiser in Seattle. He knew little about Idaho before he took the job July 1. But it didn't stop the Silicon Valley veteran. Ellick said Otter convinced him the job would be a challenge, but worth it.
Ellick, 64, has had a life of challenges. He has a degree in organic chemistry and English literature from Santa Clara University and did two tours of Vietnam in the U.S. Navy. He built a career in high tech, working as vice president and general manager both of Fairchild Semiconductor and Applied Materials. He was CEO and co-chairman of Mitsubishi Silicon America. He was consulting for young entrepreneurs and living in Washington state when he met Otter.
Ellick's career has run the gamut from being CEO during mergers and taking companies public to what he calls one "huge mistake" -- putting too much faith in a company that developed short integrated-circuit processing.
"I let my brain override my gut and fell in love with a technology and then had to tell our venture (capital) guys that we lost $20 million when it failed," he said.
For the last six months, Ellick has been reorganizing the Idaho Department of Commerce after the Legislature dissolved what had been the Commerce and Labor Department and returned it to its former status as two separate agencies. In an interview with the Idaho Statesman, Ellick shared his thoughts on some of the key issues facing Idaho's economy.
Q: How familiar with Idaho were you when you took the job?
A: I didn't know Idaho basically at all. And as you know, that's part of Idaho's issue. Much of the world thinks you go west of Chicago and then there's Denver, then there's this funny area and then you are in Seattle where the real people are. One of the things we're changing is showing Idaho as a very interesting and technically savvy state. There are people who think they know Idaho. We need to convince those people that Idaho is a great place to live and a great place to work.
Q: There are some employers who are concerned about not having enough educated workers. What are your thoughts?
A: That is a problem. The numbers are staggering. We have an 88 percent graduation from high school and 26 percent rate of students in higher education. I've talked to governor about connecting all universities together and how we can get wired up as a state. If you look at Utah, where they are totally wired up, even students in high school can take college classes.
Companies that move here are probably going to have to bring in most of their workers. It's sad to say that, but those are the facts. I know plenty of people say it's tough to find a technical work force, and that's something will have to grapple with.
Q: Are there solutions?
A: The community college (effort) is a wonderful thing, because once you get people in, they're hooked on college, and they move on. But dealing with the education issue is something we can't turn around in the short term. It will take awhile. In the near term, we're going to have to import the people.
Q: What is your take on Micron Technology's current situation?
A: Micron is a publicly traded company and (CEO) Steve Appleton has given a lot to the community over the years, and he has to figure a way out of this mess. But the problem he has is that he's in a commodity market. One man's DRAM (dynamic random access memory) is another man's DRAM, and of course its No. 1 or No. 2 competitors are Korean, and Korean companies have a lot of help from the government.
Q: A few years back, the state gave Micron a tax break to help. Is that a role the state should play again?
A: We're going to look at that. I hate for you to quote me on this, but I want the words "corporate charity" wiped off the face of the earth. These are investments, and quite frankly we compete with Washington, Utah, Oregon or whatever, and they provide incentives. Now we can call them crazy or nutty, but they're our competition, so we need to take a look at the whole story.
Q: Historically, the legislators have been very conservative. How can you change that?
A: I'm not sure if there was a very good education process. If you are in competition in business and the other guy has a sale on mattresses and you're a mattress guy, you better decide to have a sale along with him or all the mattresses are going to be sold by the other guy.
Q: The national economy is starting to slow down. What kind of impact will that have on Idaho?
A: I don't really know. I think there will be a slowdown everywhere, including here. I do have concerns about Micron. They have a 200mm factory here which isn't competitive with a 300mm factory, and they're losing money. But as I said, Appleton has to do what he has to do. I know one of the board members -- Jim Bagley -- who I worked for at Applied Materials. He's a tough Texas boy, so I guess Steve is under a lot of pressure to do something. But I don't know where his losses are.
Ken Dey: 672-6757
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