Ryan Starks, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO), is moving to the next chapter in his professional journey. We are grateful for his leadership and impact while contributing to accolades for Utah as one of the top-performing economies in the world.
Starks was appointed GOEO’s executive director by Gov. Spencer Cox on January 12, 2023. In this role, he was a guiding force in building Utah’s economy and its communities. His leadership helped recruit and incentivize 41 companies to Utah, creating 13,646 high-paying jobs and a capital investment of $16.3 billion. He also helped facilitate the expansion of Texas Instruments, which provided the most significant capital investment in the state’s history.
Under his leadership, we launched the Startup State initiative to support small businesses and entrepreneurs and establish Utah as the Startup Capital of the World. Collaboration with industry associations and higher education is thriving more than ever.
His work to support rural Utah is unprecedented. GOEO has facilitated a record number of business expansions, designed innovative grant programs, and collaborated with our rural partners to help solve various complex challenges. Starks became the first economic development executive director to travel to and visit leaders in all 29 Utah counties.
During Stark’s tenure, GOEO’s efforts to promote the state to visitors have been dynamic and award-winning. The office celebrated 100 years of film in the state, redesigned its website, published a new edition of the office’s Business In Utah publication, and premiered a new video to champion Utah as a premier destination to live, work, and play.
He helped foster global trade opportunities for Utah companies by helping lead trade missions to Canada, Dubai, France, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and the U.K. Additionally, Starks organized a delegation to Iceland to learn how Utah can maximize its geothermal energy capabilities. GOEO formed the Joint Utah-Mexico Partnership (JUMP) program to strengthen Utah’s relationship with Mexico. In partnership with the World Trade Center Utah and the University of Utah, he also supported the creation of a trade office at the University of Utah Asia campus in Korea.
Starks loves building Utah and truly believes it lives up to its many accolades. We all wish him the best in his journey and hope his next professional chapter brings him continued success. We commend him for the many significant contributions he made to the state, and we will continue his legacy of enthusiasm as we support economic prosperity for all Utahns.
Thank you, Ryan!