Gray Swoope, President & CEO

VisionFirst Advisors

A recognized leader in economic development, Gray Swoope is President and Chief Executive Officer of   VisionFirst Advisors. After a successful 30-year career in economic development, Gray launched VisionFirst in 2015 with offices in Florida and Mississippi. The firm has established a highly successful customer base founded on trust, results and continued engagement.

VisionFirst’s portfolio of client work, spanning more than 40 states, involves economic development strategy, marketing/communications, workforce and labor intelligence, site selection and incentive negotiations and compliance. The firm’s clients include six Fortune 500 companies and represent a variety of industries   including information technology, bio pharmaceutical, aerospace, advanced manufacturing and logistics/distribution.

Prior to starting VisionFirst, Gray served as Florida’s Secretary of Commerce and President of Enterprise   Florida, the state’s public/private economic development organization, from 2011-2015. Under his leadership, Enterprise Florida elevated its economic development efforts both nationally and internationally, delivering some of the most effective results in the organization’s history. Florida announced competitive project wins during Gray’s tenure that included Amazon, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Embraer, Hertz, Navy Federal Credit   Union, Northrop Grumman and Verizon.

Before joining Governor Scott, Gray served as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development   Authority (MDA) under then Governor and current VisionFirst board chair, Haley Barbour. During his tenure at MDA, Gray played a vital role in the recruitment of companies such as Toyota, PACCAR, GE Aviation and Steel Dynamics to the state. Additionally, Gray’s leadership was critical to Mississippi’s recovery efforts   following Hurricane Katrina.

Gray will bring us his perspective on “Strengthening Economic Competitiveness in Oklahoma”, including   current trends in economic and community development. Please join us.

Governor J. Kevin Stitt and other state officials will also be in attendance to update Roundtable members on current economic development activity.