In a room filled with the Top 30 economic development leaders from metropolitan areas across the nation, a simple question revealed a stark reality about American business growth today.
“Over the last year, how many of you have had a company relocate to your area, bringing 1,000 or more jobs with them?”
Not a single hand went up.
When the timeframe expanded to two years, only one hand rose from the group — a telling sign that the traditional model of economic development through corporate relocations was fundamentally broken.
The great flip
The culprit behind this seismic shift? A complete reversal of the job market dynamics that had defined American employment for decades.
In the 1980s, when an employer posted a job opening, 12 potential candidates competed for that single position. Today, that ratio has flipped entirely in favor of employees.
Companies now face the daunting challenge of competing for scarce talent in a market where workers hold unprecedented leverage.
This transformation posed a critical question: Why would any company shoulder the enormous expense of relocating when they’d immediately face the near-impossible task of filling hundreds or thousands of positions in an already competitive talent pool?
A leader’s epiphany
Joe Snell, former President and CEO of Sun Corridor, Inc. and current President and CEO of the newly formed The Chamber of Southern Arizona, saw the writing on the wall before attending that fateful meeting of economic development leaders.
Rather than accepting defeat, Snell and his team dove deep into research, seeking innovative approaches to address the changing economic development landscape.
Their findings confirmed what many suspected: Current Tucson employers were struggling to find qualified workers, and they were growing frustrated with the parade of business groups constantly seeking their attention and funding.
The solution became clear — Tucson and Southern Arizona needed to create an ecosystem that solved the fundamental “people problem.” Fix that, and existing employers could grow while attracting new companies drawn to the region’s talent pipeline.
Merger changes everything
Snell approached Michael Guymon, then CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber, with a bold proposition: merge their organizations to create a unified force capable of addressing the region’s workforce challenges.
In their early discussions, both leaders recognized they possessed complementary strengths that, when combined, could tackle the talent shortage head-on. Sun Corridor, Inc. brought decades of economic development expertise, while the Chamber offered unparalleled advocacy experience with local, city, county, and state legislators — essential for creating business-friendly policies that enhance competitiveness.
“Going forward, it’s all about the people,” both leaders emphasized, recognizing that successful economic development in the modern era requires a people-first approach.
Building the blueprint
The combined teams spent three intensive days in off-site sessions, collaboratively developing a strategy built on three foundational economic pillars:
1. Economic development focused on existing regional strengths rather than chasing every opportunity
2. Advocacy at all levels, leveraging the support of over 1,500 member companies
3. Increased focus on programs and resources for small business growth
This approach recognized a fundamental truth: economic ecosystems thrive on the symbiotic relationship between large and small businesses. Large companies provide the economic foundation through jobs, demand for business services, and the personal and family services their employees require. Small businesses fill every gap, providing support services through multi-tiered supplier relationships and delivering the endless array of products and services that individuals and families consume.
5 elements for future success
The Chamber’s economic blueprint centers on five strategic elements designed to strengthen both current and future talent pools:
1. High-skilled/high-wage jobs that attract and retain top talent
2. Educational excellence to develop skilled workers
3. Urban renaissance focused on revitalizing Downtown Tucson
4. Livable communities with robust infrastructure, healthcare, and safety
5. Collaborative governance & stewardship to ensure coordinated regional development
Mobilizing existing strengths
When The Chamber of Southern Arizona launched in early May, it brought unified leadership to business development and advocacy, while helping coordinate an already impressive infrastructure of independent programs and organizations:
- Emerging Leaders provides mentoring and education programs that help companies develop future business and community leaders.
- The University of Arizona delivers highly sought-after graduates in 4-year degree programs, across a wide spectrum of industries and bodies of knowledge.
- Pima Community College delivers workforce-based education across numerous in-demand industries, preparing students for today’s employment needs while anticipating tomorrow’s workforce demands.
- The Joint Technical Education District serves as a gateway to careers and high-paying jobs, offering 62 different programs across diverse industries.
- The Rio Nuevo District is a state agency dedicated to promoting downtown Tucson, including the Sunshine Mile on East Broadway.
- Startup Tucson provides entrepreneurs with the feedback, ideas, and resources needed to transform fledgling companies into successful businesses.
Targeting strategic industries
The Chamber has identified five key sectors for focused business development efforts:
1. Data Centers — Project Blue, announced earlier this year, represents a $3.6 billion investment that will create over 3,000 construction jobs.
2. Defense Companies & Aerospace — Building on existing regional strengths in these sectors.
3. Logistics — Targeting companies that serve Southern California but prefer to operate outside that market.
4. Bio-Technology — Developing this emerging sector with significant growth potential.
5. Mining — Leveraging the region’s natural resources and expertise.
The New Model
The transformation of Southern Arizona’s economic development strategy represents more than an organizational merger — it’s a fundamental reimagining of how regions can compete in the modern economy.
By recognizing that successful business development requires innovative, impactful and bold approaches. Snell, Guymon, and the unified voice of business in The Chamber of Southern Arizona have created a competitive advantage rooted in solving the most pressing challenge facing American businesses today.
In a world where talent is the ultimate differentiator, they’ve chosen to lead with people — and early results suggest that this people-first approach may be the key to thriving in the new economic reality.
