Why Companies Keep Choosing Tennessee | Stuart McWhorter
Deputy Governor and TNECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter joins Spencer and Carli to pull back the curtain on how Tennessee competes for major investments, creates jobs, and prepares communities for what’s next. From rural development and workforce challenges to the growing demand for skilled trades, nuclear energy, automation, and quantum computing, Stuart shares what goes into building Tennessee’s economy for the long term.
About Stuart McWhorter
Stuart McWhorter serves as Deputy Governor of Tennessee and Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD), appointed to the dual role in October 2025 after leading TNECD since 2022. He joined Governor Bill Lee's administration in 2019 as Commissioner of Finance and Administration, where he led two state budgets and directed Tennessee's COVID-19 response. Before state government, McWhorter built a career in entrepreneurship and corporate finance, co-founding the investment firm Clayton Associates and serving as CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.
It's the People
For McWhorter, the real reason companies choose Tennessee isn't just the numbers. "It's the people," he says. "That's the difference-maker in a lot of these projects." Since 2019, TNECD has landed more than 700 projects, over 100,000 net new jobs, and $60 to $65 billion in capital investment, but McWhorter credits relationships, not incentives, as what actually closes the deal. It's a philosophy he traces back to his father, who told him: "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."
About TNECD
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development serves as the state's marketing and sales arm, recruiting new businesses, supporting existing companies as they expand, and helping Tennessee's small business and entrepreneurial ecosystem grow. The department also invests directly in rural Tennessee through downtown revitalization grants, infrastructure support, and broadband expansion across all 95 counties.
Resources
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
Office of the Governor
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Spencer Patton: [00:00:00] Welcome to Signature Required. It is intended for Tennesseans by Tennesseans
Stuart McWhorter, Commissioner of the Economic and Community Development Department for Tennessee. Welcome to Signature Required.
Stuart McWhorter: Thank you. It's good to see you guys, both of you. Appreciate the opportunity to be here.
Spencer Patton: You have a lot of titles. You are Deputy Governor to Tennessee. You're Commissioner in Economic Development.
But I think if a lot of people heard those titles, nothing would come to mind of like, "Oh, I know exactly what that is that you do." Yeah. So when you meet somebody that's not from your world, what do you tell them that you do?
Stuart McWhorter: That's a great question. Um- My kids ask me that question. They're like, "What do you do, by the way?"
Uh, so, um, of course, as commissioner of the Department of Economic Development, Economic and Community Development [00:01:00] is, you know, m- for the most part, it's a, it's the marketing agency for the state. We're the sales, sales group. Our job is to basically sell the brand, um, across the globe. Mm. You know, it could be certainly here in the United States, but we do a lot of work, uh, across the, the globe in terms of foreign direct investment, companies that are looking to, uh, not only relocate, but perhaps expand their presence in the US and, and hopefully in Tennessee.
So, you know, our job is to make sure we're talking about everything from, you know, business-friendly state to, you know, specific sites, you know, industrial sites that companies are looking for, or, uh, giving them information on access to certain utilities that are very specific to what they need. Uh-huh. Uh, and, and to even workforce, which, it, you know, ends up being, you know, probably the, one of the top topics that [00:02:00] we discuss with companies.
But they rely on us to just, you know, again, sell, sell the state, tell the story about the state, why, uh, Tennessee is such a great place to do business. And, you know, I think at the end of the day, beyond just the sales component of it, 'cause we typically are, we are the first contact for most, um, we also have-- I wonder- and if you're, you know, from a business perspec- per- perspective, it's the account management function too, 'cause we carry that relationship even beyond, uh, the day they say yes to Tennessee.
We work with them throughout all of the things that they're dealing with, and we connect them, you know, with other agencies, uh, et cetera. So that's, that's what ECD is. Now, we also have as the, in the department name, we have community. Community is a big part of what we do in rural and community development, so we have 95 counties in our state, most of which are, uh, rural counties.
And we have programming, uh, state and federal [00:03:00] programming that we provide support to these local counties and cities and the, the economic development professionals that represent those areas. And it could be everything from we call downtown grants. They could be helping r- you know, reshape, uh, a downtown so that it's easy for people to get in and out of to shop at those local shops, to helping extend a water line or a sewer line for a particular retail, uh, establishment just because most of these smaller communities don't have, they just don't have the resources.
So we have the ability to support that as well as we see as rural Tennessee grows, these smaller communities grow. So that's, that's another component, uh, of our department. And the last thing I'd say on the deputy side, that is, uh, more or less a utility player for the governor. That, that, that's, that, I wake up, you know, every day and I don't really know what that's gonna be, to be honest.
So, um, and that really is more or less of that role for me, so is a, has been a function of my relationship with [00:04:00] the governor, who I've known, we'll t- I'm sure we'll talk about, but I've known him for a long time and, um, it has always, in his, in his administration at least, it's always been somebody that he knows really well to serve as that deputy and it's appointed by him, and, uh, it's an honor, you know, obviously to, to be able to do that and serve both, in both capacities.
Spencer Patton: Hmm. So from a business development standpoint, being the guy for the state of Tennessee, for those that don't know, I just wanna put a couple numbers on that so that the magnitude of- Mm ... the responsibility of your role is really clear. So, like, just for a round number, the annual budget for the state of Tennessee is how much?
Stuart McWhorter: $61 billion. $61
Spencer Patton: billion. You in your time, which started in-
Stuart McWhorter: 2019 ...
Spencer Patton: 2019, you have brought approximately, how would you quantify it from a job [00:05:00] standpoint, a company standpoint- Yeah ... like really put some meat on the bone. I know you don't like to brag, but you gotta, you gotta show some of that big impact.
Stuart McWhorter: Sure. So when I first came in in 2019, I was actually the commissioner of finance and administration.
I was over the budget. And when, and when I was in that role, the state's budget was about 25 billion. So think about the growth.
Spencer Patton: Wow.
Stuart McWhorter: Um, and it's not, the, you know, the s- the way the state budget works is very different than, you know, what we would be used to in, in business. Um, you know, it, it has grown not because the state is spending more money, it's because we are collecting more in revenue.
Mm-hmm. And as part of that- Whether it's 24, 25 billion, uh, seven years ago or 61 billion today, that is a combination of state revenue, mostly sales tax, and federal, uh, dollars that come in. So there are federal dollars that come in as that we count as, as part of our budget. Uh, but it's grown [00:06:00] significantly, obviously, over the last seven years.
Um, what we do in our department is we, we look at really three things on the business development side. It's the net number of new jobs-
Spencer Patton: Mm-hmm ...
Stuart McWhorter: that have been announced in a year, or in this case, um, to your question really, when Governor Lee came in in 2019, we measure that. Um, so it's net jobs, it's the number of projects that we announced.
Uh, and then the last is the capital investment that those projects are investing or have committed to invest. So during Governor Lee's tenure, seven and almost eight years now, uh, we have landed well over, um, 700 projects, uh, during that period of time. About a third of those are, uh, foreign direct investment projects.
Meaning these are companies that are, you know, in Asia, could be, you know, a lot in Tokyo, a lot, uh, in fact, the fastest growing is in South Korea [00:07:00] and, uh, some in Taiwan. And then we have some in Australia and other countries that aren't European, but the bulk of it is European and UK. About a third of those.
So roughly call it 700 projects, uh, uh, all in. Net new jobs over that period of time is well over 100,000. It's probably about 115,000, 120,000 net new jobs- Wow ... over those projects. But the big number, which continues just to increase over the, over each year from 2019 to today, each, each CapEx amount continues to escalate pretty substantially.
But we're, we're probably around $60 to $65 billion of capital investment across those 700 projects. And again, about... It's more than a third foreign direct investment. It- I would... It's probably about half-
Carli Patton: Wow ...
Stuart McWhorter: uh, of that, of that CapEx is foreign direct investment, and a lot of that has occurred over the last two years, mostly in nuclear- Right
um, and in [00:08:00] automotive, particularly in the battery space. And then the, this, uh, late last year, we announced the largest sing- the single largest capital investment announced by the state was a $6.5 billion project that was with a company called Korea Zinc. That is, um, they're gonna set up a, um, a rare earth minerals, um, plant up in Clarksville, Tennessee, and also in Smith County, uh, in Gordonsville.
So that's, that's our scorecard. Uh, we have o- we have other scorecards in community and rural development. Um, we do a lot of broadband grants, so we've... You know, the goal is to try to connect, uh, the, the state across the entire 95-county region, uh, with broadband. And so we have multiple, uh, scorecard numbers that we track at the end of the day and, you know, that's what we get, uh, measured by.
Of course, you know, most of the grants that are announced are what's called fast-track grants. And, and we m- every time we look at providing a grant to a company based on those net new jobs, there's an ROI [00:09:00] component to it. We look at the number of years we get, the state would get paid back on the return of that investment.
So we have a whole methodology i- internally of how we, you know, score these projects, how we evaluate the projects, how much we ultimately offer in terms of these grants, and these are cash grants- Wow ... uh, to these companies. And so In our, in our world of, of economic development, that's kinda how we do it.
That's changing, and we may talk about that a little bit later. But the, the, what we've been doing as an agency, as a state over the last, call it 15, 16 years, particular- you know, the last two governors, this governor and the last governor, Haslam, um, economic development the next 16, 15, 16 years is gonna be very different, and it's mostly a function of high automation, robotics- Mm-hmm
AI, you know, all of that, and that's, that's very different, uh, today in, in the future than it has been.
Carli Patton: Mm. I'm really curious. As I hear about your job, and then there's barely a week that goes by without a fresh headline of somebody that's [00:10:00] investing in the state or coming to the state, and there's some flashy headlines, and then there's some that most people don't know, like the power and- Right
the different pieces in the infrastructure. So if somebody's, like, getting on the phone, ring, ring, calling your office, do they just get to call you and be like, "I've got a great idea." "And I would like to move to Tennessee 'cause everyone loves Tennessee." Clearly that's not how it works. So what is kind of this process?
How is s- the sausage made between- Yeah ... somebody giving you a call and them actually being here? I mean, 'cause I imagine the due diligence you have to do, it takes a lot of work to be an overnight success.
Stuart McWhorter: It does.
Carli Patton: And the work that you are doing that is coming public now after seven years of work in this administration has really been taking place, I imagine, for-
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah, it, it is.
A good question. I think, um, it, it's a little, it, it's, um- Each project has its own unique story.
Carli Patton: That's probably why you like
Stuart McWhorter: it. It is.
Carli Patton: Yeah.
Stuart McWhorter: So I spent y- 20 years in venture capital, and, you know, that's a great way to, [00:11:00] you know, every day is different in venture capital. Sure. Every deal's different, the management team's different, their story's different, execution, all of those things.
And it's really s- as in this role, there's a, there's a similarity to that, um, uh, lack of rhythm in that, in the way those projects come our way. You know, we will, we do a lot of outreach-
Spencer Patton: Mm-hmm ...
Stuart McWhorter: to companies in industry. Uh, but a, but a lot of the stuff that we deal with in the state and have announced have really been more inbound, and that's a function, I think, of the, the state's brand, and that companies, executives, and these consultants that work with them to help them make these informed decisions know that Tennessee is a state that's business-friendly and has, you know, check all the boxes in terms of our, you know, fiscally responsible, low tax, uh, cost of living, great place to raise a family, you know, all those things.
Um, but they're, but they all are very different. And, um, we are very disciplined in how we, uh, work with [00:12:00] these companies and at least provide taxpayer dollars, incentives to them. We require, you know, they have to disclose their financials to us. Um, they have to have what we call proof of financing, which means that if the state, whatever the state may provide in a grant, they have to have the ability in a financial statement to pay that back if they don't perform, which also means we can't and don't provide state grants under FastTrack, which is our grant program.
We do not provide grants to startups or companies that really don't have, uh, strong balance sheets. Now, we have other things that we do to support that ecosystem, but in terms of these larger projects where we're announcing 10 and 20 and $50 million-type projects, um, you know, our goal is to, we wanna, we wanna provide incentives to companies that have the ability to perform, number one, but number two, if they don't, they have the ability to pay that back 'cause they are required to under contract.
W- we call it an accountability agreement. So, lot of, lot of little [00:13:00] levers and tools that we utilize there, but, but ultimately it, it is fun when you, when you get that first call, and I've been in this role for four years, so I've seen, you know, kind of the full cycle of projects where- Mm-hmm ... you get a call, when we f- when I first got in, uh, into this job in 2022, um- You would get a call, and it'd take two or three years to be standing on site and putting a shovel in the ground or cutting a ribbon with the company.
On the flip side, we can get a call, and within two or three months, we're doing- Oh, wow ... we're doing something like that. And so it, it's a function of the company and their timeline, and, you know, they're trying to make some decisions on executing on a business plan. Um, m- and, and y- and we're working on some now that, uh, you know, you almost think Tennessee has really come to a place where we can attract the best global brands, you know, uh, than any other state.
I mean, it's the things that we're able to [00:14:00] have conver- the people that we can talk to and talk about what Tennessee can offer to them as a company, uh, as a, you know, to hire our Tennessee, the Tennesseans to be your employees, um, continues to grow to where you're thinking, "We're competing really with the world."
We're not, I'm not competing anymore with just Georgia, South Carolina, or Texas or Florida. We're competing with the, the world, and we have a lot to offer, uh, in that. And as we continue to grow and make all really smart investments in education, infrastructure, um, uh, power, all those things, it, it gives us and affords us the ability to have these conversations with, you know, uh, global brands.
You can talk, you know, top, top 50 global brands in the world that are looking to do something in our state.
Carli Patton: Oh, that's exciting. Okay, I'm not allowed to ... I don't know if I'm allowed to ask this question, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. What deal have you done, or what project have you worked on, it could be flashy that we all know about- Yeah
or not, that's kinda like your [00:15:00] baby?
Stuart McWhorter: Uh.
Carli Patton: Like, if the- Yeah ... the people that know Commissioner McWhorter know that this was the one that you stayed up at night worried about, wanted to get past the finish line.
Stuart McWhorter: Wow. Um- Well, a couple that we've done that have just been fun for us, um, and it's not me, it's... And I should've said this earlier, Spencer, with your, one of your earlier questions.
You know, this, what I'm doing, it- I'm just, somebody handed me the baton in this role- ... 'cause they did a really good job, and the person before that. Mm-hmm. S- you know, it- it's decades of leadership. I'm just, I just happen to be the guy right now in this role. Um, and so it is a team effort. It's not any one thing that it, because of something I did.
I have a really good team, uh, w- in our department, and we, you know, work for a really good governor who gets this stuff. He's a great, you know, he's a great governor, but he's a business person, and he understands, you know, what it means for these companies to come to our state and make the commitment [00:16:00] that they make.
Um, so with that said, though, um, I think the, the most, it's gotten the most headlines, and it's been fun, is, uh, In-N-Out. Mm-hmm. I mean, you know, I can't go without mentioning that. It's just a really cool, um, company story. Uh, you know, if you, if you really get into, uh, the company and, and Lynsi Snyder in particular, who owns the company, you know, she, very public about her personal story, and, and redemption, uh, and forgiveness, and, uh, becoming a believer.
And she is, you know, not ashamed of that, and it's part of their culture. Mm. That to us was, that's Tennessee. You know, we, we understand the successes you've had on the West Coast, we understand the reasons you've migrated, you know, east as a business, but we also understand why you're considering, you know, moving to a state where you, those values matter, and it matters to those that live in the state much more than where they were.
That's, those are the best ones for [00:17:00] me. It's this... And, and I would also say, without really picking out specifics, but the ones that I get the most excited about are the ones where it's not a well-known brand, and it may not be a lot of jobs or capital investment, but it's the community that, that's receiving the project- Mm-hmm
that have, have never seen one before. They, they're a distressed county. They lack in a lot of things, but there's somebody, a company and a CEO who said, "You know what? We're gonna go to this city or this county because we think this is the, where we have the best opportunity for success, and we're gonna be a great community partner and help grow with them."
And they may not be big on paper, but the, the impact that it has on those communities is significant, and those are the ones we really celebrate, I would say more than any of the other ones.
Spencer Patton: Mm.
Stuart McWhorter: And we've had some really cool ones over the last four years, five years that I've been doing this. Um- I mean, you know, interestingly, 'cause this, it was one of the most recent ones, was Starbucks.
You know, we're... [00:18:00] I'm really excited about Starbucks, but during the primaries, you all know, that got a lot of attention around, you know, people throwing the cups away and pouring it out and calling it corporate welfare. I'm like- ... these are 2,000 jobs paying on average $125,000 per job. It's Starbucks.
Spencer Patton: Wow. Is that the average pay?
Stuart McWhorter: Average. Wow. Average annual salary of 2,000 people. And, and there was just this, you know, it, well, it, it was campaign season is what it was. Because guess what? Since the primary, nobody's talking about it. Mm-hmm. Um, but That's exciting. It's a great project for Nashville. Um, Starbucks is a, a, obviously a well-known global brand.
Interestingly, beside... I mean, the b- the, the business decision to expand east, 'cause I didn't really know this, but their, from their stores and their retail side, very well penetrated in the West Coast and moving east along the way. But their, in their minds, they weren't penetrating the East Coast as [00:19:00] much as I would've thought.
I mean, I feel like every time I go around here, I see a Starbucks. But if you go, you know, any, any where the density is in cities, they're on every block, you know? Yeah. So that, that was a, a strategic move, but they also, as you, as you all probably know as well, I mean, you're talking about Nashville and Tennessee being pretty much in the middle of the, of the East Coast, in the east of the eastern part of the United States, where you can get to, you know, close to 70, 75% of, of the US population in a day's drive, truck drive.
Mm-hmm. And that was strategic for them. But, but the other part of it that's really interesting to me is Starbucks, you know, they went through a period of time as a, as an organization, maybe pre-COVID, certainly post-COVID, where, you know, they got a lot of heat for taking stances on certain things that were socially or politically driven.
Mm. And as a company, and it's, what I'm saying is, is not that it's, you know, it's public out there, but as a company, the board made a decision, "You know what? We need to focus on making really good [00:20:00] coffee." Mm.
Spencer Patton: Yeah. "
Stuart McWhorter: And, and we really need to focus on making a customer experience the best customer experience.
We gotta get out of these other things." And they saw Nashville as a way f- to bring that back. Mm. And that says a lot, I think, to our city and our state for being a place where a company like Starbucks says, "You know what? Yeah, that's, that makes sense for us as a business. We're willing to make a, a move and make a bet on that," because they felt that it aligned more with what they, where they needed to be back as a company.
And, and that doesn't get discussed very much, and I, and I, uh, when, when the, there was the, uh, pushback on the project and the incentive, uh, my response was, we should be celebrating the fact that we've, as a state, we've been so focused on being a great state to live and work- Mm ... and raise a family, and now you're giving this company a hard time for doing s- something that we've created, collectively created a great environment for.
And so anyway, it's, [00:21:00] um, it ends up being an interesting... And this job can be so interesting when you get into that piece of it. Oh, yeah. But, uh, yeah, it's, um- The, the rural community projects, I think, are really the ones that get us, and it's not just me, it's the governor as well, really excited.
Spencer Patton: Mm-hmm.
Commissioner, when you're talking with organizations that are considering Tennessee, whether they're coming from the United States or abroad, I can kinda easily rattle off the reasons that they're gonna say yes. Like, if they bring their employees to Tennessee, we don't have a personal income tax here.
Mm-hmm. So it's effectively a raise- Mm ... for the employees coming from many places if they were being taxed in other places. Uh, I can understand just some of the policy pieces that you've discussed, that Tennessee governs our state really differently than California- Right ... or New York. And a lot of people are personally making the decision to move here.
But let me give you the harder question and say, let's go to [00:22:00] the reason why ultimately a company says no, okay? When they look at Tennessee and say, "There's so many things that are right there," what are the biggest objections that you have to overcome? Uh, because I think those are good things for the future of the state to understand- Mm-hmm
and say, "Why do people look at us and say, 'Would love to be there, can't do it, won't do it?'"
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah.
Spencer Patton: What are those?
Stuart McWhorter: Well, I, in, in most cases, when we don't, if we're, if we're competing for a project, um, and, and we don't win the project, it typically comes down to a couple things, but that, and oftentimes is not in our control.
But, uh, if they're looking for, um, a site To build a building. They're looking at it from a standpoint of so many, you know, months or years in advance. And so they're trying to back into, you know, if we were to make a decision today, when can you help us deliver on that particular, [00:23:00] the, the, the property, the real property, the building, et cetera.
And sometimes that's doable. Mm-hmm. But sometimes it may not be. It could be a function of the fact of getting the property shovel-ready, and it may require time to get shovel-ready. They may say, "We like this location. How long will it take to get it shovel-ready and then a building built?" And that could be, uh, you know, we don't build buildings, but we're helping them land that location, and they're working with a developer to do it.
And if we can't meet that timeline, they're gonna go somewhere else where they can find that timeline met. Okay. Another example would be, and we, and, uh, Carli, you mentioned this earlier about power and, and the need for energy and access to power. That has become more and more of a, a, a, a, a hurdle in some cases for projects.
And so companies will say, "We need-- We gotta have 50 megawatts of power by, you know, 2027," just whatever it may be. And we work very closely with TVA 'cause they're our power provider. That could be a gating factor, too- Mm ... in terms of their ability. TVA may say, [00:24:00] "We can get you, you know, 10 megawatts. We can't get you what you need by 2027."
They may say, "Well, we, we can go to Texas because they have promised us that they can get that power to us in the timeframe we need." So that, it's those types of things w- typically- Yeah ... uh, are, cause us not to win the deal. Workforce can be a factor as well. They may be looking for a specific type of skill set that may be more plentiful in other states, in other locations than what maybe what we're doing.
We're trying to, you know, we're really focused on that right now.
Spencer Patton: Yeah, I was wondering about that 'cause, you know, of the 95 counties in Tennessee, some of them are quite rural. Right. And so when you think about You could have a property that's shovel-ready, you could have a lot that you like about the state, maybe there's sufficient power, it's not a power-intensive thing, but they're coming in and saying, "Hey, we need to hire a couple hundred people- Right
or a thousand people," and there's just literally not that many people within a, a radius.
Stuart McWhorter: That's right.
Spencer Patton: That's an interesting challenge to deal with.
Stuart McWhorter: It is. And, you know, it's not unique to Tennessee. I think all states deal with this. It's, you [00:25:00] know, it's a workforce, and the access and supply to workforce is a, uh, is a challenge for all s- all states, especially as you think about how, um, each state is onshoring more and more projects as, you know, uh, President Trump and, and our federal government is looking to bring more US jobs back on our soil.
Mm-hmm. That is putting more pressure on workforce, so all states are looking at this. But you're right, in rural parts of our state, it's, it's a little bit more challenging than more urban areas where there's o- obviously more people. Um, but we're working on it. I mean, we've made, Governor Lee's made significant investments in workforce development, uh, whether it's K through 12, uh, whether it's the technical schools, and certainly our, um, our colleges and universities.
Um, the last thing I'd say about on, you know, just projects that we didn't, uh, win, I, I take a lot of pride in our processes and how we, as an agency and as a department, um, look at projects, and how we put forth our best offer, a cash offer, in terms of the actual [00:26:00] grant. W- it's rare that we're, you know, putting out this massive amount of money.
We, we f- we'll learn, you know, from the consultants or the companies where we are in the process. Sometimes they'll come back and say, you know, "Here's where y'all are, and we like Tennessee, but we need you to up your incentive to be a little bit more competitive with..." They won't usually tell us the state at the time, but there's another state that's actively...
And, and, and there's been times we've said, "We're good. We actually think what we've got is our best and final, and, you know, look, we have way more to offer than money, and if you don't think, if you can't value these other things as currency in your analysis, then maybe, you know, you should just go to that other state, 'cause we're not gonna be that, that state."
And that gives us, you know, oftentimes it hurts to say that, but, you know, I- We just take a lot of, uh, pride in the processes and what we do to, in our due diligence that we can't let [00:27:00] consultants... It's usually the consultants that- Mm ... are putting you under pressure because they're getting a fee on whatever grant's being provided.
Yeah. So we know the game, but, and we try not to play that. On the flip side, if it's something we really want- Mm ... and it fits, uh, an industry that we're going after aggressively, you know, we'll, we'll do that. We'll, we'll, uh, uh, you know, we'll, we'll turn, we'll turn the dial a bit more to make it work.
Carli Patton: Mm-hmm.
I have a workforce question. Maybe it's just selfish mom heart, but you have kids that have gone to college, graduated from college. You've got one more at home. We've got kids in high school that are starting to think about that, and with everything that's changing so much in the workforce, especially in Tennessee- Yeah
I want my kids to stay.
Stuart McWhorter: Right.
Carli Patton: Like, I want- Yeah ... these kids to be brilliant- Mm-hmm ... and then I want them to want to stay in Tennessee. And as we're counseling them about what types of jobs to even ponder, right? It's hard with how the ecosystem is changing- Yeah ... especially with technology and energy and all of the things, to even know where to, like, point the arrow- [00:28:00] Yeah, right
for them right now. Right? 'Cause when we were younger, it was like, doctor, lawyer-
Stuart McWhorter: Right ...
Carli Patton: teacher, businessman. Those were kind of your- That's right ... businesswoman. And so now, where are you pointing your kids, or maybe not your specific kids, but the Tennessee youth? Like, where should we be looking?
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah. Uh, that's, that's a, a really good question that I probably don't have a good answer for except to say that, um- And my kids, I feel like, especially my ol- two older ones, are probably further along in their journey, in their early in their careers, um, that where this would apply.
But particularly kids in high school today, um, I believe there is more and more opportunity in the trades-
Carli Patton: Mm-hmm ...
Stuart McWhorter: than ever before. And, and what, where I go with that as a dad is I'm thinking, "Okay, you don't have to go to a four-year college," you know, especially if you go out of state and you're gonna pay a pretty high price out of state tuition for a four-year degree that you may or may [00:29:00] not use.
It may not, may, may or may not be applicable. That's a whole nother-
Carli Patton: Mm-hmm ...
Stuart McWhorter: topic over there.
Carli Patton: That's a whole podcast.
Stuart McWhorter: That's a whole podcast. Yeah. And I'm actually very, um, passionate about that- Mm ... uh, as just as a, not in necessarily in my job, but as an individual who pays attention to higher education. Um, with that said, I think the, the, the career path and opportunity in the trades, for instance, um, pipe welding is a, a massive career opportunity.
And with all of the manufacturing that's occurring, advanced manufacturing that's occurring, what we're doing in Tennessee with nuclear energy, they have a need for a lot of welding, welders and welding, but pipe welders, which I didn't know much about. We just toured a facility, not in our state, but I went to see-- I wanted to see the, the best, newest, shiniest, you know, um, welding college or facility, which we did.
And that's... Talking to the students there, I mean, they're gonna be there from a year to two [00:30:00] years, depending on what they're doing. They, they have every opportunity they could ever dream of. And guess what? They're not gonna have m- any debt, if any at all. Mm-hmm. Or may, may have a little, um, depending on where they live.
But To me, it's those things. Like Governor Lee, you know, being the former CEO of Lee Company, you know, you've got plumbers and pipe fitters and electricians and mechanical engineers that it's, it's a highly, you know, it's a har- uh, 1,500 employees or whatever they are today, mostly trades. Mm-hmm. And the amount of opportunity today, because the needs there is much greater than getting a four-year degree in sociology or, you know, un- unfortunately in teaching.
You know- Mm-hmm ... the, the, the, the compensation for teachers with the amount of debt you accumulate to become a teacher is just, it's becoming upside down. That's a whole nother topic too, but that's where it is. Now, with a junior in high school, would I say you should go to welding school? You know, well, when I was...
We were talking earlier, she might. Sure. I mean, [00:31:00] she could be the one that does that, and she's like, "Yeah, I'm doing that." But I could see her doing something very unique and different- Mm-hmm ... because the opportunities are there. I didn't mention anything about AI or, uh, automation and how computers and, um, uh, and these, these humanoids and just what they're doing with robotics.
It's, it just, every time I see the most advanced technology around automation, it blows my mind. But it's what the skill set there are the people that understand how to utilize the, the, those tools and those technologies. I was talking to somebody, uh, I think it was today, this morning, who was talking about...
This was in another country, not in the United States, but it's a manufacturing facility where it's h- it's all automated, but there are people in the, in the plant. The plant was like a 10th of the size of what you would see in a manufacturing plant, and they said that when they were observing, um, the workers, it, if you didn't know what they were doing, you thought they were pl- they were gaming They s- they said it looked like a bunch of gamers just sitting there playing [00:32:00] games, and it was just, they had their headphones on, they're looking at screens, and they were all using their hands and doing stuff.
But they were in the process of making, uh, whatever the, the company was manufacturing. I think it was in automotive. So how do you, if you're, you know, a, a 10th grader or an eighth grader, like, how, how do you, as a parent, how do you, you know, steer your kids toward opportunities like that? Uh, I don't know, become a really good gamer.
I don't know. You know?
Carli Patton: But- Well, gamers are taking over the world. Yeah. This makes Spencer very happy.
Spencer Patton: Yeah. Very happy
Carli Patton: with that answer. Yes. We met in college, you don't know this, and he was the quintessential gaming nerd. Oh,
Stuart McWhorter: yeah.
Carli Patton: All right. And so he always told me gamers are gonna rule the world one day, and I just- Well, it could happen
happened to believe him. Yeah.
Stuart McWhorter: It could happen, yeah.
Carli Patton: Yeah.
Spencer Patton: All right. Well, so I have a little bit of a left turn to take here. So I've gotta take Commissioner McWhorter and humanize you into Stuart for a second. So I understand that you have long in your past a secret identity. And you can either voluntarily [00:33:00] disclose this secret identity, or I'm gonna drag it out of you.
So which would you prefer?
Stuart McWhorter: Well, I, I probably should just say it without- ... people thinking it's some weird freaky thing. Dun, dun, dun. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So, um, it's, it's a funny thing, but, uh, I went to Clemson, and I was a freshman, uh, at Clemson, and I'd, uh, joined a fraternity. I had a big brother in the fraternity who happened to be the tiger, the mascot.
Okay. And, you know, if anybody follows college sports, you know, if- It's a big deal ... you've seen the, the Clemson tiger, it's just one big orange carpet, you know. It had a long tail, and it's heavy, and it's, you know, it's, it smells, and it's hot inside. Anyway, so my big brother was in the fraternity house, and he had this massive bag around his shoulder, and he was walking through and I'm sure I was doing something I was supposed to do as a pledge, and I asked him, I was like, "What are, what are you doing?"
He said, "I'm going down to the gym to do [00:34:00] tryouts. Uh, and, um, I've got to try out and I'm gonna help, kind of help judge for the tiger." And I was like, "You have to try out for that?" "Hey, I didn't know." And he said, "Yeah, I gotta try out for it." And he said, "You ought to try out for it." And I literally said, "Okay." I grabbed my stuff and I walked down with him right then.
Spencer Patton: Whoa.
Stuart McWhorter: And I knew nothing. And so the first day was just getting in it, l- you know, learning how to walk, do mannerisms, you know, just, it's just, it's, uh, it's unusual- Not suffocate ... you've never put a mascot outfit on, just so you know, it's weird. And so we did it for two, three days. I ended up tying him for the position.
It's, it, back then we had one tiger, and we would have an alternate. And he and I tied for it, so we split it, and we had one other p- person that was with us just to back us up. And I did that I did it at the end of my freshman year, all of my sophomore year, all of my junior year. Oh, that's so funny. And in my senior year I, I tapped out, I was [00:35:00] done.
It was just a lot, because it's a, it's a, it's- It's a big job ... it's a full-time job. Yeah. It's a lot to do. But yeah, I did that and-
Spencer Patton: And you created a tradition there too, right?
Stuart McWhorter: Well, kinda.
Spencer Patton: Yeah. So you gotta give a little bit of that too. That's, that's- Yeah. Yeah, that's right. So there's a little bit of theft that happens as part of this tradition maybe?
Stuart McWhorter: Well, so, you know, there's, um, I've told this story before, but The stories as Tiger are, run deep. Uh, you can imagine when you have that on, you, you kind of have a, a license to do almost anything you want to do.
Carli Patton: Your Tiger alter ego.
Stuart McWhorter: You pretty ca- Yeah ... yeah. Sort of things you di- couldn't get away with as a kid, here's your free pass to go try it, you know?
And really two quick stories. One was we were in South Carolina at the University of South Carolina in Columbia playing them. It was a, you know, it was, it's always the, it's the, the game right before Thanksgiving or right after Thanksgiving. It was cold, it was kind of wet, but we were beating them pretty good.
And it was halftime, and normally I s- take the suit off, I rest, [00:36:00] but I decided to go and hang out on the field while the bands were doing their performances. Clemson goes first as visitor. They perform, they come off the field. The, uh, Gamecock Band, marching band goes out there. I, I'm standing there next to, uh, one of the tuba players.
He's got his tuba on the ground, and I, I... You can't talk when you're in the suit, so I just tapped him. I, I was like, uh, in motion, "Put that on me." So he got it, set it on me. I went out there in the middle of the formation of the, of the South Carolina Gamecock Marching Band. And-
Carli Patton: You're lucky they didn't chase you off the field.
Stuart McWhorter: Well, they tried. Ah. They tried. I, I, I heard... Something caught my attention. I look over my shoulder and there's, like, four guys jumping the wall coming at me. Oh, boy. They were coming to get me, and thankfully the state troopers stopped them. I got that off quickly. But I, I got in trouble. I got back home, you know, back to Clemson.
The athletic department said, "Don't do that again." I was like, "I was just in character. It's fine." "It was all part..." It's, it's... They don't... It's like [00:37:00] they took that personally. I was just playing around. Um, and the only other f- you talk about theft, uh, we were at, in, uh, NC State. NC State has two mascots. They got the wolf and the female wolf.
And, uh- Somehow one of them got my attention, distracted me, and got me away from this massive flag, Clemson paw orange flag that we would run and wave. And they got me away from it, and the other one took it, and they started running down the sidelines while the game's going on. They're running from the s- down the sidelines like, "I just stole your flag."
And by the time I figured that out, I ran as fast as I could, and it's hard to run in those things. And I laid, I laid them out, and it was- Oh, wow ... a pretty hard tackle. That's amazing. But just to get it back, 'cause I, I was like, "We can't. We're not playing this game." Same thing happened again. I got in trouble, but just, I chalked it up as- So be it
it was a skit. They were supposed to steal the flag, and I was supposed to tackle them really hard. Yeah. That was the game.
Carli Patton: No, I cheered at [00:38:00] Vandy, and I had to carry one of those flags. I had to run it around-
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah ...
Carli Patton: you know, the basketball arena. That's hard. And I was so winded. Yeah. It was the most embarrassing.
It
Stuart McWhorter: is.
Carli Patton: It was so embarrassing. I did not make it through a second year. I was like, "Please, nobody see me run this flag." I can't imagine doing it outside in a tiger costume.
Stuart McWhorter: No, it's-
Carli Patton: There's no way ...
Stuart McWhorter: the, the, uh, back in, you know, w- the hard parts were, uh, on a fall Football Saturday in September Oh. Yeah. Any day in September It's
Carli Patton: 1,000 degrees.
Stuart McWhorter: It was hot and, you know, as, as a cheerleader I'm sure you did the same thing. There was so much we did pregame that was just as much as or more than the game itself. So by the time the game started, you were worn out. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And, uh, there were, there were times early in the, you know, first and second quarters you didn't see much of me 'cause I was just trying to catch my breath and get hydrated because of all the pregame- Sure
uh, events that we had to do. But once it cooled down, then basically you could kind of roll with it. Um, but I did, I did appearances, [00:39:00] I did birthdays, I did parades. Uh, I traveled all over South Carolina with that bag. And, and some of the real funny stories are, um, going to these small little rural communities to do the, you know, watermelon festival or whatever, and I was meeting some person.
You know, this is when we didn't have cell phones, and I had, like, written directions and who the person I needed to go contact. I'd get to the location, you know, I'm, I'm looking for whoever it is, and most times I was at somebody's house and they were gonna take me wherever we were going. I had to change, I had to get in the suit in their house.
Oh, God. And I'm, it was just, it was, you know, it was a wild experience just to do that, but, um-
Carli Patton: Well, no one told you that being the Clemson Tiger was gonna prepare you for politics. Yeah. Festivals-
Stuart McWhorter: That's it ...
Carli Patton: shaking hands- Exactly ... hanging out with people you never thought you'd meet. Yeah. Like, that's basically probably why you are in the governor's cabinet
Stuart McWhorter: at this point.
Well, that, my wife, my wife says that I had good practice as, [00:40:00] as the mascot doing what I do, at least in this role. You know, other commissioners c- would not be able to tell, say the same thing. Oh, except for maybe Mark Ezell, who's our commissioner of tourism. He probably has a similar... Could ha- He, you know, being a, he could be a former mascot and do what he does, but most of these other commissioners, they're regulators.
That's different. That's a different, uh, task, for sure.
Carli Patton: Um- Hmm ... I appreciate you sharing that story, and four of your five kids went to or are at Clemson- They
Stuart McWhorter: are, yes ...
Carli Patton: right now. And so you've been in this role, you've been serving in this capacity, I guess, in the administration since 2019 in this role for the last four years, and you've got five kids- Yeah
and a wife. And it sounds like you do a ton of international travel.
Stuart McWhorter: I do.
Carli Patton: You have a huge job. I would love to talk a little bit about what that looks like as a family man that obviously loves your family, has a great sense of humor, wants to instill that, but you still gotta work really hard. How do you find that balance?
Stuart McWhorter: Uh, well, I [00:41:00] mean, ultimately, uh, for me is, is he and my wife Leanne is just a great supporter of what I do. I mean, she, she's the best. She's a... She does a lot of things, uh, for our kids, uh, very supportive of what I do. Um, you know, I just... If I, if didn't have that, I wouldn't be able to do it. Um, I will say this though too.
Before, uh, when the governor got elected, uh, he asked me to join his administration, and I was a little reluctant on what exactly I would do 'Cause I thought, as he did originally, that I would do what I'm doing today. I'd be the Commissioner of Economic Development. That seemed, just with my background, that made the most sense for me to, to, to do that.
There were a couple reasons why I didn't, but one of those reasons was the travel, and I, I remember sitting down with Bobby Roth, who was my predecessor, and looking at his travel calendar, and I, I just, at the time, you know, this was, this was eight years ago. Mm-hmm. And so all of my kids were [00:42:00] at home, and, and my, you know, my youngest was very young.
She was probably, yeah, she was probably seven or eight years old at the time. Mm-hmm. And I, I was pretty intent about, "No, uh, I ne- I can't be on the road. I don't wanna be away." Mm-hmm. "It's just not the right thing for me today." Fast-forward, it, you know, it was much different. Kids were older, kids were in college or somewhere at the time.
Y- you know, I was, I was discovering, outside of my wife, my kids were like, they didn't even, they were like, "Have you, where have, have you been gone? Where have you been?" You know, they, they were so in- Teenagers ... whatever, yeah. Yeah. Total teenage m- brain fog. Um, but so there was a lot of timing in that. So today, you know, with the kids older and, um, it, it's, it's not as difficult, um, uh, to, to do what I do.
And with the, uh, with the amount of travel that I do, it's really not as bad as it, it may appear. Uh, I'm, I'm home, uh, a lot. Uh, I do travel internationally, so we have to sort of take that off the list, but I typically do, [00:43:00] you know, three to four international trips a year for, for work. And, uh, but outside of that, most of the other travel's domestic, and a lot of it's in state, and I'm, I'm, I'm home at night when it's state travel, so it's not too bar- bad.
But yeah, if, Leanne's l- she's totally the rock. I mean, she's the one who's the MVP and allows me to do what I do- Yeah ... to be honest, and she's been great. And the kids, um, my oldest now, he lives in Greenville, South Carolina. You talk about how do you direct kids to careers, well, uh, what we're trying to do is just, "You need to just come on back-
uh, to Tennessee." But he, he's in Greenville, uh, engaged. His fiance's from Greenville, so he's gonna stick around over there, uh, for quite some time more than likely, which is great. Uh, my other son who's here has graduated. He's actually with the Titans and loving it, um, you know, really enjoying that. And, um, uh, yeah, so they're all becoming adults and doing their own thing these days.
Spencer Patton: Hmm.
Carli Patton: That's so fun.
Spencer Patton: So will you take us back in history a little bit to the beginning of Governor [00:44:00] Lee's- quest to become governor to start? Like, just give us a little bit of that history, 'cause I think it's important in contextualizing what you saw and what that dynamic was like, because most people probably have no idea, didn't follow it, or weren't even in the state for the time.
Yeah. So give us a little bit of that story for what stands out most to you during that time.
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah, I think, so the governor and I have known each other a long time. I met him not long after, um, his, his first wife, uh, passed away And at the time we were down, our offices were down in Cool Springs where Lee Company was, and kind of around the community, got to know him, um, and really just became good friends.
And along those, during those early years of getting to know each other, um, he started talking about serving and had a desire to do something, uh, more than what he was doing at Lee Company. Uh, [00:45:00] and I think it was around 2015, uh, there was some conversations that we were having about what would that look like if, you know, if, if I decide to run for governor, what would that look like?
And he asked me and a, and a handful of others just to sort of serve as his sounding board for that. And obviously he decides to run. He asks me to serve as his finance chair for the campaign. Um, I actually turned it down initially- ... only because I didn't know what that meant. I didn't really know what he wanted me to do.
Mm. And I felt like there were some people in the community that had much more experience and an understanding of what that could be for them and, and have success. But he came back and said, "I really want you to do this."
Spencer Patton: You know, Stewart, I see a progression in you that from the moment that you stepped out to try out to be a Tiger with no questions asked, you just went out there and grabbed- Yeah
you've really evolved as a human being- That's right, I have ... in the quality of the questions that you ask, so. Exact-
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah ... yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, you know, he, the, the governor's [00:46:00] very, uh, persuasive- Mm ... I will say that. Um, yeah, so I, we, we win. You know, we win the primary. We were, you know, obviously, um, we were polling four out of four when the campaign started.
He ran- Four out of four, you
Spencer Patton: were
Stuart McWhorter: polling last place. We were last. Yeah, we were, we were fourth out of four. Yeah. And, and for quite some time. Uh, we, we raised probably the least amount of money, uh, than, than the other four, certainly two of them. Um, so we just did what we could do. And, uh, he wins and he says, "Hey, uh, I, I really would like for you to, to be a part of what we're doing if, if, you know, if it's something you wanna do."
And around that time, my dad had passed away, and I, you know, chose to... It was like, "I'm, I, I'm gonna do something different. I don't know what it'll be, but, uh, we did our business together for 20 years, and if he's not here, I don't wanna do it without him." And so the timing was such that I was sort of thinking, you know, "Maybe this is [00:47:00] something I should do."
But to be in the, sort of in the inner circle of that, to g- you know, and it's like I've spent most of my career investing in startups, and that's kinda what this was. You have a, a, a, a great idea, a great service, or a great product in a guy named Bill Lee, who has this passion and a calling to run. Nobody knew who he was.
Nobody gave him really, or early on, any chance for success. Uh, like a lot of startups. Uh, and he was able to just execute perfectly with... And he really didn't have a lot of options on how to execute his campaign, but he did what he had to do to get it to win. But ultimately, at the end of the day, it wasn't about, you know, strategy or campaign, uh, tactics.
It was the fact that he was a really good candidate. Mm. And he's just a good person, and he was very authentic in his campaign, and people saw that and said, "That's- Bill Lee's who we want." But to be part of that from the sort of the early days and through this, [00:48:00] and, and even today- Mm ... now being a part of this whole journey with him is remarkable.
I mean, I, I, uh, I, I'm so fortunate to-- that he gave me the chance to serve along with him- Mm ... uh, to serve the state, to do this in s- in a way that's just been so satisfying for me, and I'm b- you know, honored to do it because, you know, there's a lot of people that could do this job. Uh, and um, you know, when you, when you really think about, for me, why I do it, there's a lot of things I could probably do in life, uh, career-wise, but I chose this path, one, to work with somebody that I got a lot of respect for, but two, to serve.
And the people of Tennessee are such great people, and this is such a unique state. Mm. And to do what I'm able to do, uh, is an honor and a privilege, and I don't, I don't, um, uh, I don't regret any of, of any of the decisions, uh, made to get to this point, and certainly cherish all the memories that are being created [00:49:00] as a result of what we do.
'Cause ultimately, in this job, you're creating jobs and opportunity and- Yeah ... really, uh, giving people hope- Yes ... uh, a- and opportunity with their careers and pay, and it's all those, all the things that you wanna do in economic development. So it's been really cool. But to be at, to your question, kinda be at that level to start- Yeah
to see this thing grow has been, uh, very unique, for sure.
Spencer Patton: Mm. It has to be surreal as you drive across a city or a landscape or down the interstate and you see something that you're very gracious and humble to say there's a lot of things that started before you and things that'll continue after, and you have a great team.
But at least some percentage of the reason why a project is there or someone's getting off at a exit ramp that didn't used to exist- Right ... was something that you had a part of- Yeah ... in the state of Tennessee, and that has to be a special feeling and uniquely [00:50:00] tangible.
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah. I think that's, I think the, the, the tangible part of it is what f- makes it satisfying 'cause you ac- you can see the results of the work.
There's a lot of things that, particularly in politics, that you may never see come to fruition, or it could just be a promise made with no delivery of, of an outcome. I think for us, we actually see things come out of the ground. You see jobs created. You actually have conversations with individuals, and they tell you the story about what that particular opportunity meant for them.
That's why these rural c- projects that I mentioned are so special, is because these are people that live there, and now they have an opportunity to work in the community they grew up in. They may not have had that. They may have had opportunity, but not quite the opportunity that we're able to provide as a result of the work that we're collectively doing, and that's what, you know, that for me, that's what's really, really, uh, special about this, this opportunity.
Spencer Patton: Well, Commissioner, the way that we land each podcast is we have a short sentence and then a [00:51:00] fill-in-the-blank at the end. Uh, and, uh, you can fill it in with a word or a short phrase that you feel like, uh, completes the thought. Uh, if you'll just repeat the little prompt back and then fill it in with whatever you think is best.
Okay. Okay?
Stuart McWhorter: Yep.
Spencer Patton: All right. Number one, Tennessee's biggest economic advantage is blank.
Stuart McWhorter: Tennessee's biggest economic advantage is decades of Great leadership.
Spencer Patton: Mm-hmm. I think that's so true. There's so many decisions in this state that have led to it being the place that-
Stuart McWhorter: It has ... it
Spencer Patton: is today.
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah, it's, you know, you think about, you know, decisions that were made 10 or 15 years ago may not be coming to fruition until now.
Spencer Patton: Yeah.
Stuart McWhorter: That's a lot of, the governor talks about, "Hey, you know, I'm not gonna [00:52:00] be around when this becomes something- Mm ... but it's important that we do this. I'm not here for the short-term win. This is a long-term play."
Spencer Patton: Yeah. Mm. Number two, the thing companies are most surprised to discover about Tennessee is blank.
I
Stuart McWhorter: think the things that people are most surprised to, to find in Tennessee, I think, is the hospitality and welcoming nature of our, uh, of our people.
Spencer Patton: Mm-hmm.
Stuart McWhorter: Uh, oftentimes I'm told about the uniqueness and the special, uh, uh, this- We have something very special- Mm ... in Tennessee, and that's the people, which is, it's hard to pinpoint what exactly, uh, is that reason, but I think people are true to the Volunteer State, and I think they exercise that in a way that's different than any other state.
Spencer Patton: Mm. Mm. Number three, the industry that could change Tennessee's future is [00:53:00] blank.
Stuart McWhorter: Industry that w- can change the, that could change Tennessee's future
Probably nuclear en- energy and nuclear industry. It's already starting to do that now. Um- We've had, you know, a, a great amount of p- you know, projects announced over the last several years in nuclear energy, mainly because of Oak Ridge National Lab. So I think it's, I think it's the nuclear energy-
Spencer Patton: Mm-hmm ...
Stuart McWhorter: s- uh, sector.
Spencer Patton: And last one, the biggest misconception people have about economic development is blank.
Stuart McWhorter: Uh, the biggest misconception of, that people may have of economic development is the impact of other jobs, that it has o- other, i- impact of other industry and other jobs. Mm. Um, think about the companies that are providing a service to construction companies, that all of a sudden you've created more jobs because they have now a project to work on.
That doesn't get [00:54:00] often spoken in the work that we do. We talk about the projects, as we've been talking about. Mm-hmm. But think about the service companies that are in these communities that now are getting contracts to help build a facility or help serve the company. That, that has a massive impact that nobody in econo- That doesn't get discovered or ta- talked about in economic development very often.
Carli Patton: Okay, so we got to talk about your favorite things, and I asked that question. Yeah. But tell me, what are you looking forward to? I mean, there's about to be an election, right? There's gonna be a new governor.
Stuart McWhorter: Yep.
Carli Patton: And is it my understanding that you're gonna, if, assuming Marsha Blackburn is the next governor, that you are gonna stay and help with that transition as well?
That's the
Stuart McWhorter: plan, yes.
Carli Patton: Okay. So if you get to do that for a little bit longer- Yeah ... right?
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah.
Carli Patton: What are you looking forward to with the time you have left in this role?
Stuart McWhorter: Yeah. I think, you know, we have, uh, some interesting things going on right now. I think that's one of the reasons why I'm excited to stay.
There is value in some continuity- Mm-hmm ... in a transition, and we're working on some things that, you know, [00:55:00] uh, quite frankly, I'm not ready to walk away from. Uh, and it just goes back to what we were talking about earlier, building relationships, and you're planning, um, uh, pretty, pretty heavy stuff. We have, I think, in the state, I talked about nuclear earlier.
We have some special assets in the state on nuclear. But we also have some unique activity and assets in the state around quantum computing, and that's out of Chattanooga with, uh, their power provider is EPB, and they have had a, uh, a quantum computer that's available to the public for use, and it could be for test beds or research and development.
But they have a very robust and unique supercomputer or quantum computer there in Chattanooga, and so does Oak Ridge National Labs. Now, that's more on the private side. But we believe, as a state, we're very uniquely positioned having two, uh, quantum computers. So this last legislative session, the governor put some money in the budget to allow us to build out the infrastructure, [00:56:00] really sort of, it's, it's all the, it's the guts of the system to make sure we can interconnect across these quantum computers and then allows us to really spread that out across the state.
And what that's gonna allow, ultimately why we're, it's exciting, is- You know, as you think about technology and advancements in the future, quantum is gonna clearly play a key role, and it, so many applications around that. But this is, th- this is sort of the backbone component that we believe we gotta make these investments today so that in the next five or 10 years, companies will move, not, not just companies that are moving here, but the companies that exist in Tennessee have access to now quantum computing.
It costs less to, for them to access what we bu- helped build out collectively. Um, and so again, as I mentioned earlier, a, a lot of these things Governor Lee won't be around for. I probably won't be around for some of this either 'cause it's years out in advance. But that's, to me, is something that's very exciting for our state.
Not well-known. Uh, most people don't even know what that, most people don't even know what quantum computing is. Sure. Uh, [00:57:00] and I'm, I know very little. Uh, but, you know, it is gonna be the future, and it's gonna, it's gonna play an important part of anything from research and development to national security, and we have it, you know, right here in our backyard.
It's pretty exciting.
Carli Patton: Yeah, I mean, I think Starbucks and your cup of coffee maybe sells papers and headlines- That's right ... right? But when you think about the job creation in the next decade- That's right ... the quantum computing is where it's really at. That's it. And so I really appreciate your spirit to help transition of power because business doesn't run on an election cycle.
That's right. Business and relationships are outside of that time. That's right. And so I'm really grateful for what you're doing to build things that people don't even know they need yet. Yeah,
Stuart McWhorter: that's right.
Carli Patton: Yeah.
Stuart McWhorter: You know, and one other thing, just real quick, I don't use this for this or not, but I was with a group last night talking about, you know, why is Tennessee so special, and how Nashville in particular has become such a unique city with- Mm-hmm
in terms of the culture and the relationships. And, you know, there were, decades [00:58:00] ago, uh, there was a, a group of, of families, individuals that were very intentional about building relationships in our city. And as the city has grown and become much larger and much more diversified, we've lost some of that.
We're still, we still have, I think, a, an advantage that a lot of other states or cities may not have. But, you know, there is, we have a, a really unique opportunity to sort of focus on that because that really is the difference-maker in a lot of these projects. Mm. It's the people. They talk about the relationships and the, and d- what people are so willing to stop what they're doing to help somebody out.
They're like, "That's so foreign to us. We came from another state, and no one has ever offered to help us." I mean, I had somebody tell me yesterday that when they moved here, uh, they met all their neighbors on their street within, like, the first week. He said, "Where we lived before, I lived there for 15 years, I met one neighbor on my street."
Mm. "It's just not, it's just not something we're used to." And I, you know, so the, the thing that I am very p- [00:59:00] -passionate folks about is we can't lose that in Tennessee, uh, a- across the state. We can't lose it in Nashville because I do think that is the difference maker and why some of these companies choose to come here is because they wanna live.
The governor tells a story all the time about a guy that, a family that moved to Tennessee from another s- city or another state, and he said, "You know, it, it, it's just refreshing to move back to America." And I was like, that's pretty cool. Uh, so I just wanted to, I just wanted to add that to the conversation.
I think it's really important for us to continue that rec- we need to recognize that that is part of the reason why this is such a special place to live and work.
Spencer Patton: Well, Commissioner Mc- McWhorter, thank you for taking the time to be with us. Your role and impact upon this state is really paying forward exactly the types of things that you have benefited from from your predecessors, and it's great to see someone that [01:00:00] has spent a career in venture capital doing incredibly complex things that you could easily talk over the head of everyone listening and make it obtuse and impressive and all these different things, but you really have the heart of an educator to be able to sit down and talk about an enormously complex job in a way that makes sense, is compelling, and, and I guess that's also the heart of sales.
It's the heart of development- Right ... to be able to take Tennessee, which in and of itself is at a minimum of three different states- Right ... in one. For sure. Very true. And explain that to someone in South Korea. Yeah. That's right. To where they're willing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars- That's right
to come over here. So it really is a privilege to have you serve in the capacity that you have, and thank you for taking the time to, uh, serve the state, uh, in a [01:01:00] way that has required you to make sacrifices of your family and personal life and income possibilities and all the things that you've stepped away from to, to do in this way.
So thank you for spending time with us, uh, today too.
Stuart McWhorter: No, I appreciate it. You know, I, I think, um, this is, uh, an, um, an opportunity that, you know, as a, someone who respects my dad, respected my dad as a mentor. You know, he always said, "If, if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life." And, and you know, this, this, I think that's what this is about, is, uh, doing something that you really love and you serve, and it's the relationships you build, uh, along the way that are really special and, and it, you know, sort of, it's, it's, makes this job more than the job itself.
You know, yeah, we have a job to do, but it's, um, the relationships you build, and particularly in the, in international, uh, economic development, that matters a lot, particularly in the, uh, Asian culture. They, they res- you know, they have a high regard for those relationships that you build, and [01:02:00] that's what I think what makes it so, uh, uh, special to me is being able to do that.
So I appreciate you all having me in and letting me, uh, chat with you about all these fun things, and, uh, look forward to, uh, hearing this, uh, play out, uh, in, in the next day or two. So thank you.
Spencer Patton: Yeah. Thank you.
Stuart Porter, Commissioner for the Department of Economic and Community Development for Tennessee. Say it 10 times
Carli Patton: fast, please. Commissioner Porter caught both of us. It's a tongue twister a little bit.
Spencer Patton: Yeah. There's a lot of title to that, and, uh, deservedly so. Sure. Sure. Like, he does a lot of things for the state of Tennessee.
So, uh, really good conversation that is educational, and also just answers questions about Tennessee and why its national relevance- Mm ... is at an all-time high. Like, Tennessee has never [01:03:00] been more desirable as a place to locate a business than it is right now. Mm-hmm. And that's true across the United States, but it's also true across the world, and that was really fascinating to hear, that 50%, approximately, of the dollars coming into the state are coming from international companies that are choosing to build their next manufacturing or headquarter operation here in the state.
Carli Patton: Yeah. It's really a theme, I think, of people we've interviewed this season, is this idea of it takes a really long time to be an overnight success. Mm. And I think as you watch Nashville boom, especially in the last decade, you're like, "Wow, they're doing something right all of a sudden." Mm. And it's, it's really this position, as Stuart was quick to point out, there has been great leadership in our state for a really long time, and the prayer is that that continues, but his heart posture of, "There [01:04:00] have been a lot of people that have done this well.
I'm trying to do this with excellence while it is mine to do- Mm ... and then pass the baton," and really thinking through, what do people not even realize they need yet- Mm ... in our state so that we are successful in the future? And so I really appreciated the futuristic thinking. I really appreciated his practicality.
You know, when asked, "What job would you recommend young people get?" He said, "Pipe welding." And I think that is what makes Tennessee so great, is we're not, we don't think so much of ourselves, that we have to have this fancy this and this fancy that. It's like practically, what is going to put food on the table?
What is gonna make the best experience for your family so that you can be a great citizen to your community and your faith-based communities? And I think he has that mindset, and that was so fun to see, but also so not surprising based on the work that we have read that he has done.
Spencer Patton: I also really appreciate how Stewart's entrepreneurial background [01:05:00] was so apparent- Yeah
and the way that he makes decisions. That would
Carli Patton: make you so happy. Yeah, that's your heart language.
Spencer Patton: Just to be able to know that inside of government there is an entrepreneurial business mindset, because in a lot of government settings, that just doesn't exist. Mm-hmm. And it's not always malicious and mean-spirited that it's excluded, but more often than not, it's underrepresented inside of government.
And so I think he's just doing a really good job of recognizing that he is stewarding a $61 billion annual budget for Tennessee through the economic development perspective, and he's doing so by wi- being willing to say yes to some deals, but also no to others. Yeah. And I like that, and it's a good skill set, and I see why Governor Lee has him in his cabinet.
Carli Patton: I also really enjoyed his heart for rural communities. It's something you've seen [01:06:00] in Governor Lee's administration. It's something you really see with his pick in Stewart McWhorter for ECD. And I think in Tennessee, we just wanna talk about Nashville so much. And there's good reason. Nashville's getting a Super Bowl, right?
We just lear- we know that they're getting s- part of the Olympics for soccer, right? Like, Nashville is cool. There's a lot going on. But it is not the whole state, and there are really incredible human beings north, south, east, west in this state, and the fact that he c- has them on his mind day in, day out just gives me great joy.
