Haley Changing Name, Mission Of Economic Development Agency

By Andrew De Millo

LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas' top economic development officer, Maria Haley, didn't have to look further than her agency's acronym to find an example of a way to clean up Arkansas' image.



ADED -- pronounced "AY-Ded" -- sent the wrong message for an agency trying to bring a more vibrant life to Arkansas' business community. Gone is the Arkansas Department of Economic Development and in its place is the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.



"All I know is our friendly sister states called us A-DED, and if your competition is calling you A-DED it's a branding problem," Haley said. "It's dead before you arrive."



The name change was a small part of a series of changes Haley pushed during the legislative session as she takes over efforts to lure existing businesses to the state and help existing companies expand.



A longtime aide to former President Clinton, Haley came to head the state economic development agency as Arkansas faced a series of letdowns in its attempts to land major projects.



Days after Haley's appointment was announced, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG said the state was no longer in the running for a $3 billion steel mill. Weeks later, Toyota Motor Corp. passed over Marion when it announced that a new auto plant would be built in Mississippi.

And Toyota subsidiary Hino Motors Ltd., which already has a parts plant at Marion, has given mixed signals on whether the east Arkansas city would be considered if the company built a new U.S. factory.



When Gov. Mike Beebe announced Haley's appointment in late January, he said she would "open doors" around the globe for Arkansas business opportunities.



A former member of the board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Haley said beefing up the agency's international connections will be a primary focus.



"I think that the programs at the agency may not have been as global as it should have been," Haley said. "For example, we don't really have an international division in the agency right now. I'd like to be able to revisit that and see how we could have an international division."



Haley said one possibility may be reopening offices that Arkansas once had for economic development in other countries.



"I don't know whether that's the way we need to go. We're looking at it and studying it, but we need to study the budget to see if we can afford it," Haley said.



"I'd like to have more people with an international background, people who can speak foreign languages. I would love for Chinese to be spoken within this agency," Haley said. "I'd like to hear German and French spoken in this agency, and have people who are culturally savvy about those countries. I really think that a lot of the jobs will be generated by foreign companies, international companies."



Haley was working as senior director with Kissinger McLarty Associates in Washington when Beebe asked her to take over the economic development agency, then headed by Larry Walther.



Haley said she took the job because she agreed with Beebe's vision for the commission, which she said must be closely tied to education and workforce training. She said part of her job will be building bridges among state's economic development and education agencies.



"There's still some disconnects, and we need to make sure there is a connection between economic development and education," Haley said.



Haley also wants to focus on community development and work with cities and counties on their local and regional economic development goals. She is considering changes in the Arkansas Community of Excellence program, which was started in 1992 as a way to promote community development and local growth.



"I'm going to be targeting to make sure our communities are ready for economic development," Haley said. "I'm not just talking about bringing in new industry, but sustaining the businesses we already have here."



Haley, too, hopes to develop targeted profiles as she pitches the state to specific industries and businesses. Haley said it's a practice that other states have tried.



"We should provide a profile that we could provide to aerospace companies around the world on why Arkansas is ideal for that industry," Haley said, citing one industry as an example. "We would put the reasons behind it. This takes research and a lot of grunt work to develop that type of information so we can market Arkansas."



Haley acknowledges that the name change of the agency indicates how much changing Arkansas' image will be her job in pitching the state as a good place for business. She is reluctant, however, to say what she thinks the popular image of the state is now.



"The image I would like the state to have is that it is progressive, that is innovative, that it understands the importance of education and the global economy," Haley said. "It's a good place to live and a good place to work. ... That's what we're going to be working on."