Jim Moore focuses on Lee's economic well-being

Jim Moore Jim Moore took over the Lee County Economic Development Office last August in the depths of a national recession, with national news reporting that Lee County was ground zero.

At the time, he had been happily retired for 10 years. Mr. Moore had been a successful Fortune 500 company executive, CEO of Gulf Utility Company in Fort Myers and a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. And he's no stranger to financial adversity, having worked odd jobs to pay for school, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college.

Now his mission is to diversify Lee's economy. After the housing bubble burst, high rates of unemployment and foreclosures illustrated the county's unhealthy dependence on construction and tourism dollars — and the taxes related to them — to support jobs and infrastructure like fire departments and schools.

"When those industries have a cold, Florida goes into critical care," Mr. Moore said.

So as soon as former County Manager Don Stillwell appointed him to the job in August, he set his sights on bringing in new industries that officials have wanted for years but had little luck attracting. The desired companies will demand well-educated, high-paid professionals, in particular bio-technology and life-science firms. Aviation, information technology and manufacturing companies are also high on the list.

"Those are the fish," Mr. Moore said.

He didn't have any trouble getting Lee County commissioners to set aside $25 million to attract such companies for a program called FIRST Initiative (Financial Incentives for Recruiting Strategic Targets). Gartner Inc., an information technology company, already received $160,000 from the FIRST fund to expand in Fort Myers. It could potentially employ 400 people with wages upwards of $70,000 per person.

The board of county commissioners makes the final decisions on what companies get the dollars and how much, but Mr. Moore plays a key role in deciding how it's divvied up. The commissioners have already trusted his office to give $1.7 million to a company that has kept its name confidential. (Florida Sunshine Laws allow that.) However, Commissioners Frank Mann and Brian Bigelow raised concerns about it. Mr. Moore argued that the company will provide jobs and bring hundreds of millions in revenue to Lee County.

Mr. Moore is reluctant to talk much about his past, saying the focus now should be on economic growth and recovery, not him.

"I'm simply older, I've had more life experiences," he said. "My background is not important. It's not what people care about now."

What they do care about, he said, "are parallel to everybody's interests: the arts, good shopping, fine restaurants, low taxes. All those things come about from having a vibrant and diverse economy."

The most difficult part of his job now is finding the right companies to pitch Lee County to. His office partners with the Horizon Council, a public-private partnership, to make this happen. Mr. Moore gives talks to Rotary Clubs, Realtor groups, business owners and others.

"I need people to spread the message: If you know somebody that can help our economy expand or diversify, we want you to talk to them," he said. "We won't embarrass you. Lee County is a good business proposition."

Mr. Moore, 65, started his own business career in banking after graduating with a degree in finance from Florida State University. In school, he worked part-time hanging drywall and as an assistant to a plumber and an electrician.

He enjoyed going to the beach and playing sports in Vero Beach, north of Miami, where he grew up and his father owned a laundromat. It was a place, he remembers, where you could "ride your (bicycle) anywhere; put your 22(-caliber rifle) across the handlebars and go hunting."

In 1982, after leaving his job as vice president of finance for The Charter Company Finance and Operations, a Fortune 500 company, he moved to Fort Myers and opened Gulf Utility Company, a water and sewer business that served more than 20,000 customers. He has pursued real estate and other business ventures and was a founder of Florida Gulf Bank.

Mr. Moore replaced Regina Smith as executive director of Lee's Economic Development Office. He enjoys spending time with his wife, grandchildren and dog and playing golf. But he'd rather talk about the economy in Lee County.

"Lee County will be stronger when we come out of this — I guarantee you," he said. "You've got a generation now of people who haven't been through something like this. People who are willing to work hard in a smart, ethical way will thrive. Everybody will be better for it when this is all over."