Feb 9, 2024
by: Lynn Lofton, Mississippi Business Journal
Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Bill Cork didn’t plan to work in economic development, but his career path took a turn that led to this field, and he hasn’t looked back.
His original plan was to be a teacher after growing up in the middle of a corn and soybean field in Plano, Illinois, and attending the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
He married, left school and joined the Marine Corps instead.
“I served four years, returned to college and finished a degree in philosophy. While finishing that degree, I took an elective class in real estate law and got the highest grade in the course the professor ever gave,” he recalled. “He invited me to apply to graduate school without testing and became my mentor as I obtained a master’s degree in urban and regional planning with an emphasis in economic development and public finance.”
Completing that degree led to an internship and job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he worked to help communities transition from military base closures.
“That led to a fascinating and fun career that, 30 years later, landed me where I am now,” he said.
He came to Mississippi by way of the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, where he served as CEO.
“It was an amazing fit — maritime port, airport, space and rockets, a short line railroad and real estate and industrial development, along with both federal and commercial interests. It allowed me to use many of the experiences I had gained over the years and stretched me into new areas,” he said.
Readers might be surprised to learn that Cork is a lay liturgiologist in the Roman Catholic Church, a permanently instituted acolyte and a liturgical master of ceremonies.
He has served at the altar in Catholic masses in all the major basilicas in Rome and all the major pilgrimage sites in Israel.
In his leadership position at MDA, Cork says the organization has the ability to react to fast-changing circumstances, but the challenges are productivity in the face of government cutbacks and the sheer volume of work.
“Productivity improvements are going to be necessary to move forward to tackle the future, and we have the right leadership team in place to make that happen,” he said. “MDA is a fantastic group of committed professionals that was started decades ago and was one of the first state economic development agencies in the U.S. It has a long and proud tradition of success.”
Economic development is changing with the volume and speed at which capital is moving — like nothing Cork has seen in 30 years.
“The projects are data-driven and huge in scale, and rapidly changing market dynamics force us to be disciplined in our approach,” he said.
However, he believes the state’s workforce is able to keep up.
He’s visited 81 of the 82 counties and reports seeing optimism, hard work and communities ready to propel themselves into the future everywhere he goes.
“The people of Mississippi are subject to the demands to adapt to rapidly changing technology and processes that would challenge anyone who wants to advance in their careers,” he said. “Fortunately, our state has solutions, and we are eager to continue to deploy them for the benefit of our friends and neighbors who work hard every day or who want to enter the workforce.”
While working to bring all kinds of business to the state, MDA looks keenly at automotive, defense, aerospace, the blue economy and forestry products.
“With those and a few others, we do much more vertical market work,” Cork said. “However, the state currently enjoys a vast pipeline of projects from myriad sectors totaling over $60 billion in capital investment and over 35,000 jobs. We are busy responding and closing the deals that come our way.”