3 min read July 2023 — Choose New Jersey is optimistic about the state’s business future. “We have a lot of economic momentum right now as a state and in particular as a region in North and Central Jersey,” said Wesley Mathews, President and CEO of Choose New Jersey, in an interview with Invest:. Mathews also discussed workforce development and the rationale behind opening international offices.
What are the major highlights and milestones for the organization over the past year?
2022 was a momentous year for Choose New Jersey. We added six ambassador-level directors to our board, attracting major global companies including Johnson & Johnson, Becton Dickinson, Merck, Campbell Soup, and CGI. These are companies that are either headquartered here, have major operations here, but also have a major global presence.
At the height of the pandemic, Governor Murphy created the CEO Council, bringing together New Jersey’s leading companies and healthcare providers to collaborate on how to move the economy forward through the pandemic. In 2022, Choose New Jersey took over stewardship of the CEO Council, which was a significant moment for our organization.
Additionally, in 2022, Choose New Jersey reengaged with the world, growing our international footprint. We now have a presence in Berlin, Germany; Dublin, Ireland; and New Delhi, India; and we just opened an office in Tel Aviv, Israel. We also have potential growth opportunities in East Asia and in Mexico and Latin America.
Choose New Jersey helped to facilitate several major business wins over the past year. Among our top 3 corporate wins in America last year was Netflix announcing their East Coast production hub in Monmouth County, solidifying New Jersey’s top spot in the world of sports and entertainment.
What is the rationale behind opening international offices?
It’s more important than ever for New Jersey to have an international presence. The Statue of Liberty sits just off our coast for good reason. For centuries, we’ve been a gateway for immigrants seeking opportunity, freedom, and a better way of life for their families.
New Jersey represents the best of what the United States has to offer today, and a promise of a brighter tomorrow. Also, it’s important in these times for us to be abroad and make sure that companies in our key markets have the information to ensure they make the best decision on where to land in the United States.
What high-priority high-value high-growth industries are you focusing on?
What clearly stands out are the great strides the Governor and his team have made in clean energy, particularly creating the offshore wind sector in our state. We are blessed as a state to have a shoreline and the kind of shallow depth to build out an offshore wind industry almost better than any other state in the country.
Governor Murphy put forth an economic plan nearly five years ago that serves as a blueprint for the economy of the future. The goals he has set will make New Jersey a leader in the clean, renewable energy of the future.
And while we look to the future, we also remain focused on growing the industries that are already established and important sectors of our state’s economy – pharmaceuticals, life sciences, financial services and fintech, logistics and transportation, and food technology.
We are also seeing a lot of exciting growth in the film industry. New Jersey has the nation’s most aggressive film and tax credit incentive package, which is paying off. Netflix recently broke ground on a major production facility here, and we’re currently discussing plans of several other major studios and producers in the industry.
What workforce development initiatives is Choose New Jersey supporting or spearheading?
Workforce development is an existential matter for New Jersey. We have the nation’s number one ranked K-12 public education system in the country. We have an excellent higher-education system. We have the nation’s number one ranked university in Princeton. We are home to Rutgers University – one of the top public university systems in the country. We have three R1 research universities. We produce thousands of graduates who are some of the best in the world, but we need to make sure that they stay in New Jersey by giving them job opportunities. We need to create programs and training opportunities to train and retrain workers because, as we know, the average worker who graduates from high school today might have 12 different jobs and maybe a half dozen different careers. And that’s exactly what the State is doing.
One of the key initiatives is the Wind Institute for Innovation and Training. It incorporates workforce development, education initiatives, research and innovation, and stakeholder engagement, all for the offshore wind industry. Governor Murphy recently announced the New Jersey Pathways to Career Opportunities – an initiative that helps align employers, industry associations, labor unions, institutions of higher education, and workforce development partners and provides students and workers with a structured pathway to find career opportunities.
What is your outlook for both Choose New Jersey and the state in the next three to five years?
I want to see the economy continue to grow and reach the kind of durable, sustainable growth that will benefit all citizens of the state – I want to see Choose New Jersey continue to work effectively with government to champion the state to prospective businesses. I want Choose New Jersey to lead the state’s international business recruitment efforts and to be an invaluable resource to all of our stakeholders. Continuing to find ways to create value for our board and partners is also a priority of mine. The economic vision for the state is one of the most aggressive, ambitious economic plans any governor has ever put forward in New Jersey. We have a lot of economic momentum right now as a state and as a region in North and Central Jersey. I’d like to see that economic momentum continue to build by having companies from across the nation and the globe move here because they see a state with a clear-eyed, optimistic economic vision for the future.
For more information, visit:
