ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603220034
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: G-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MYLENE MANGALINDAN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
HEADING DOWN THE hallway toward his Richmond office with a cellular phone in hand, Robert T. Skunda looks as poised as a model strolling down a fashion show runway.
And in a dark, pin-striped suit, he's just as well-dressed.
Looking sharp is practically a necessity for the state Secretary of Commerce and Trade, who oversees 14 agencies, including the Virginia Employment Commission and the Department of Economic Development and he hobnobs daily with myriad government officials and corporate executives.
But the Michigan native isn't content with the state's recent attraction of big-name industry. His main charge from his boss is to generate even more jobs to broaden Virginia's work force and tax base.
With Skunda's help, Gov. George Allen said, he has surpassed a campaign promise to add 125,000 to the state's work force. More than 150,000 new jobs have been added by the private sector since he took office in early 1994, Allen boasted last month.
In Skunda, the governor chose an articulate, respected advocate for business interests who recognizes there's still work to be done in Virginia. A lot more.
``We've got a long way to go,'' Skunda said. Chief among Virginia's competition is the long-standing perception among many national and foreign companies that North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee are the prime places to locate and expand their operations. ``'Even in spite of our success ... we do not have top-of-mind awareness with many CEOs. And that's where we need to get to.''
Others agree that Virginia has yet to distinguish itself, and that its success in creating jobs can be attributed to the improvement of the state's economy - not magic worked by Allen's administration.
``You're talking about more fundamental economic forces,'' said Doug Woodward, an economics professor at the University of South Carolina who follows regional and urban economics. ``All states are getting more aggressive. So has Virginia. They've been doing better at attracting capital and attracting jobs," he said.
``You may say, `Wow, Virginia's doing really well.' Well, that's true. But so are other states.''
At the least, Skunda has capitalized on the state's prosperous economic times and pro-growth image.
Well-known in state circles for his work as chairman of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Fairfax County Chamber, Skunda continues to be a ``big-picture'' guy, according to his supporters.
``Bob Skunda has the long view, the history,'' said Greg Wingfield, president of the Greater Richmond Partnership, a regional economic development organization. ``When he was tapped by Gov. Allen to be secretary, he brought the kind of focus and the kind of things that needed to be done to enhance economic development for Virginia.''
He helped expand the Opportunity Virginia Fund, a source of deal-making money started under former Gov. Douglas Wilder, but firmly established himself as a ``deal closer'' under Allen.
Skunda has approved two recent grants from the Opportunity Virginia Fund for the benefit of Roanoke Valley. One grant totaled $460,000 for Roanoke County to use to help R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. of Chicago build a book printing and binding plant. The other totaled $300,000 for Botetourt County to use to help A.O. Smith Corp. of Milwaukee, Wis., build a truck part factory.
But Skunda did not personally attend the sessions when local officials negotiated those deals and were not present for the ceremonial announcements.
In fact, in Botetourt County, considered the Roanoke region's current hotspot for economic growth, administrator Gerald Burgess volunteered no opinion of Skunda, saying he's never met him.
Perhaps Skunda's highest profile effort so far was spearheading Allen's effort to win legislative approval for the $163 million package of incentives for the historical theme park in Northern Virginia that was proposed and later abandoned by Walt Disney Co. When a preliminary draft of the report leaked to the media with the untested financial numbers, Skunda had to defuse general alarm over the size of the deal.
But he never lost his cool.
``I never saw him get rattled in a crisis,'' said Burwell Gund, executive vice president of Crestar Bank who worked with Skunda in Fairfax County. ``He has a great political sense about him. His approach is to build as much consensus as possible. He's always respected people of opposing opinions.''
A transplanted Virginian, Skunda, 49, was born in Flint, Mich. He received his bachelor's degree in architecture and his master's degree in urban planning at the University of Michigan. A college football fan, his license plate reads ''GO BLUE1.''
Before taking the cabinet position as Virginia's Secretary of Commerce and Trade, he was the managing principal of the East Group of Dewberry & Davis, a Northern Virginia-based architectural and engineering services firm, where he oversaw marketing, business acquisitions and expansions.
A tireless and meticulous worker, Skunda ignored doctor's orders after he injured his back during the holidays last year. He brought work home and went into the office after his surgery. He'd work for a while, stop, rest and then resume working.
Friends describe him as a likable, gracious man with a great sense of humor. During his free time, he enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife, Cheryl, his daughter, Courtney, and his son, Kevin, a student at the University of Virginia.
Many familiar with the intricacies of economic development say that an improved economy and a better understanding of the interstate rivalries have helped Virginia's competitive position.
''When the recession came and budgets were cut across the board, there wasn't any advertising and companies cut back,'' Wingfield said. ''What happened on the state level also happened on the regional and local levels. Their budgets were cut mostly because businesses were. With what was happening at the time, Virginia was not a major player in the marketplace.''
Now, ''the mind-set in Virginia for industrial development has matured,'' said Hugh Keogh, president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. ''There's a better acceptance by policy-makers of what it takes to close deals.''
For years, states have used incentives to lure business. They include tax rebates, cash or free rent.
With the creation and frequent use of the Opportunity Virginia Fund, as well as performance-based grants, Skunda and his leading deputy, Wayne Sterling, director of the Virginia Department of Economic Development, benefit from an improved understanding among legislators and others of how the game is played in other states.
''They have more tools,'' said Keogh, who served as economic development director from 1987 to 1992 under Gov. Gerald Baliles and during the first half of Wilder's administration. ''It took some time, an evolution, really, for Virginia to be comfortable with [incentives]. They have to be applied with discipline. You have to be willing to go into the market and wheel and deal.''
The state's inch-thick economic development list has grown from 72 active prospects, when Skunda started, to about 400. But leads are only a starting point.
''Why aren't businesses just beating a path to our door?'' Skunda asked. ''Well, I don't think any business is going to beat a path to your door necessarily unless you promote yourself and you are able to demonstrate to them how they are helped and why they would want to, as they continue to expand, take advantage of these resources.''
On the top of his to-do list, Skunda wants to concentrate on business retention and corporate growth. But he acknowledges that recruitment of new and expanding companies will still take up much of his time.
LENGTH: Long : 136 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Christopher Reddick/Landmark News Service. Virginiaby CNBDirector of the Economic Development Wayne Lee Sterling (left) and
Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Robert T. Skunda. color.