Eccles, Romney to lead state economic team

Gov. Gary R. Herbert has tapped two familiar names in Utah business circles as his "dream team" to head up the state's economic-development efforts.

He announced Thursday that businessman and philanthropist Spencer P. Eccles will lead the Governor's Office of Economic Development, and Josh Romney will serve as the state's national business-recruitment policy adviser.

"Our biggest challenge is the budget, and the best way to smooth out the bumps is to grow the economy," said Herbert, who noted that the focus of economic efforts will be on "empowering the private sector and growing the economy.

"It's about jobs, it's about jobs, it's about jobs."

That means first keeping jobs already here and helping those businesses expand. Efforts to attract new businesses, while important, are a third-place priority, he said. In some cases, helping businesses succeed may mean getting out of their way, he added, so the state will be checking to make sure there's no over-regulation or over-taxation.

Eccles told the Deseret News that the first challenge is job creation, which is central to each of the governor's economic-development priorities, including strengthening entrepreneurship and attracting national and international business. The venture-capital arm the state has developed will help keep business here and grow it, he said.

Both Eccles and Romney are business-school graduates — Eccles at Brigham Young University and Romney at Harvard University — and they both have extensive experience in Utah's business realm and beyond it.

Eccles worked for Wells Capital Management in Salt Lake City and has been involved with various American and international technology companies, as well as managing three ranch operations in Idaho and Wyoming and the Goldener Hirsch Inn in Deer Valley.

During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, he managed development of the Snow Basin venue and oversaw the events there, and he has served on many community boards, as well.

He is president of First Security Foundation and advises The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation. He is the son of well-known Utah businessman and philanthropist Spencer F. Eccles.