Mike Preston is 31 -- not 32, as was reported by the governor's office when Preston was named the state's new economic development chief last month.
But age shouldn't be equated with experience or competency, says a former Arkansas Economic Development Commission executive director who himself was 36 when he took the job more than 20 years ago.
"I think he has the demeanor, the smarts and the knowledge to be successful," Del Boyette, president and CEO of Boyette Strategic Advisors of Little Rock and Atlanta, said of Preston. Boyette was Arkansas Economic Development Commission executive director from 1993-97.
Preston was most recently vice president of government affairs for Enterprise Florida Inc., Florida's principal economic development organization. The two men worked together on a study of economic development in rural Florida four years ago, and Boyette is a big fan of the younger fellow.
He said Preston understands economic development but also knows how to work with the Legislature and policymakers to get things done. Preston's experience is born of his work with Enterprise Florida Inc., as well as on time spent working on the staffs of a Florida senator and a representative.
"He's young and energetic and was part of an environment of working hard to get things streamlined and marketed and done to create opportunities in Florida, and I sincerely believe and hope he'll be able to do the same thing in Arkansas," Boyette said during a telephone interview from where he was working Thursday in Florida.
"I had no idea that Mike Preston would be the executive director of the AEDC or that he would break my record as being the youngest, but I think he's a good choice," Boyette added.
Chris Moses, president of Moses Tucker Real Estate Inc., said Preston's background and experience are just what the state needs. The downtown-focused firm hopes Preston will continue to attract both private and public companies, some of which can help fill the residential complexes Moses Tucker is developing and expanding in the area of Little Rock's creative corridor and coming technology park.
"I think we need a lot more younger leaders throughout Arkansas," Moses said. "I think it's great to have someone of his age and expertise handling the day-to-day affairs."
"Personally, I think I'm absolutely ready for it," Preston said during an interview at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission offices last week.
Prior to his executive role with Enterprise Florida, he was chief of staff to Florida state Sen. Steve Oelrich, who no longer holds the office, and was an administrative assistant to Florida state Rep. Larry Cretul, who later went on to become speaker of the state House.
Preston's new job is his first in a leadership role and the first in which he has managed a large staff or entire agency. He's responsible for some 85 people at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. At Enterprise Florida and while working with the Florida Legislature, he rode herd over two to five people, he said.
It's not as if he was entirely unfamiliar with Arkansas and its economic development scene.
At Enterprise Florida Inc., Preston reported directly to the organization's president and CEO, Gray Swoope, a former Florida secretary of commerce who had worked at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission from 1991 to 1997. During that time, Swoope was a project manager for the commission's business development division and served as director of business development.
A "general positive opinion" of Arkansas led Preston to answer when a national search firm came calling in February. His first interview in Arkansas was his first time to the state and the first time to meet Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Preston started with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission on April 6.
"It all happened very quickly," said Preston, a sugar-free Red Bull energy drink on the table in front of him.
At Enterprise Florida, Preston filled in for Swoope and "was the face of the organization" when Swoope was traveling or otherwise unavailable.
"I feel like being part of the third-most populated state in the country's key economic development organization gave me the background I need to step in and take over as the leader of an organization," Preston said.
He grew up in a small town in a Florida county that borders Georgia. His first job was selling peanuts along the roadside when he was in middle school, he said. Many think of Florida as being big and prosperous, but during the recession, the state's unemployment rate was 12 percent,.
"We got hit and we got hit hard," he said. "That wasn't just turning around a small ship; that's turning around an aircraft carrier."
He sees taxes as a challenge for drawing business to Arkansas. Hutchinson and the Legislature helped by lowering the state income tax to help struggling middle-class families in the state, Preston said, but the corporate income tax needs to be modernized. The franchise tax rates and sales tax rates also are too high, he said. Rates should be more in line with competitor states like Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee.
The Arkansas Economic Development Commission as a sales organization needs a stronger emphasis on marketing, Preston added. The commission's marketing budget has been flat for years and should be expanded to compete with campaigns of neighboring states.
"Our job is to go out and sell Arkansas as a business destination," he said.
Joseph Bailey, vice president of the Arkansas Economic Developers Association board of directors, said Preston has a much smaller budget than what he had to work with in Florida, especially in the areas of marketing and training, and those are concerns that must be addressed.
"I think he will find that he can pick up the phone and get things done very quickly in Arkansas," Bailey said. "The benefit of being a small state is that we're all closely connected and can solve problems quickly."
Fresh blood with new ideas comes at a time when continued economic growth is critical for the state.
Arkansas Economic Development Commission member Philip Taldo, a real estate developer in Northwest Arkansas, said, "Consistency and continuity within AEDC itself is an important factor in developing and implementing short- and long-term goals, which are necessary to achieve success in any organization."
Preston and his wife, Anne, expect to close on a house in Little Rock within a couple weeks. For now, she's still in Florida, where she anchors for a 24-hour cable news station.
Both attended the University of Florida at the same time but didn't meet until after they graduated, when she was working for a local television station in Gainesville and he was chief of staff to Oelrich.
"A few press conferences later, we went out ... and now eight years later, here we are, married," Preston said. The couple tied the knot at a historical hotel at St. Pete Beach a few months ago.
SundayMonday Business on 04/19/2015