Gray Swoope
President & CEO, VisionFirst Advisors, Tallahassee
VisionFirst is a nine-employee consulting firm that focuses on economic development strategy, site selection and incentives compliance and negotiations. The company has three offices and clients in 35 states. Before founding VisionFirst Advisors in 2015, Swoope was Florida’s secretary of commerce from 2011-15. He says a pivotal move for him was joining the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (now Economic Development Commission) in the early ’90s, allowing him to work on international projects.
| EDUCATION | Mississippi State University (BS, MBA) |
| SOMETHING SURPRISING | I have a private pilot license. |
| FLORIDA LOVE | The water. I have been to all 67 counties and love our fresh and saltwater access. |
| ADMIRES | Eric Silagy, president and CEO of Florida Power & Light. He has long been a champion of diversifying our state’s economy. |
| Sabbatical Topic | It would have to be meteorology. I have always been fascinated by weather. |