Gov Whitmers Mackinac Policy Conference Keynote as Prepared for Delivery (2024)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 30, 2024

Gov. Whitmer’s Mackinac Policy Conference Keynote as Prepared for Delivery

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. --Today,Governor Gretchen Whitmer willdeliverthe keynote address at the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference.

Since taking office, Governor Whitmer has brought Democrats and Republicans together to power strong economic growth. Michigan has added 61,000 jobs year over year; the unemployment rate is 3.9%;Michigan is a #1 state for energy sector job growth and automotive industry and electric vehicle investments;and the state hassecured 38,600newautojobs and $16 billion of investment with economic development tools that bring manufacturing and supply chains home from China.

Governor Whitmer is focused on continuing that tremendous progress to grow the economy and create jobs.In her keynote,she will focus onculture,capitaland creativity by announcing Michigan’s first ever Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer, two executive actions to open testing equipment, facilities, and infrastructure to entrepreneurs,andPitchMI,a statewide startup pitch competitionopento early-stage startups building the most innovative next generation companies.

Please see below for her remarks as prepared for delivery.

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It’sgood to be back! I want to thank Conference ChairSuzanne Shank, Chamber CEOSandy Baruah, and all thestaffwho put this important event together every year. This has been an incredible conference. I hope you all got to see my friendSecretary Raimondotalk this morning. Secretary Raimondo, by the way, isa Michigander by marriage.As I said yesterday, between her andSecretary Pete Buttigieg, we are slowly but surely marrying the entire cabinet into Michigan.

I want to acknowledge my partner in government,Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist.

Before I get started,let’sgive all the people working hard behind the scenes a big hand—especiallytheGrand Hotel and service staff.

2 years ago on this stage, I talked about Michigan in the year2100and what we need to donowto set up future generations for success. Last year, I spoke about how we canstrategicallygrow our economyandpopulation andestablishedan aptly named council to create a state strategy to meet our population goals.

The theme ofthisyear’s conference is “Bridging the Future Together”—fittingfor an island in sight of theMighty Mac. The bridge is a living symbol of the promise of Michigan.It’samillion-tonmonumentto what Michiganders can do when we put our minds together to solve a difficult problem.That’swhat I want to talk about today.

We will focus oneconomic developmentand one aspect in particular:innovation.

Michigan has a rich history of innovation.The University of Michiganis the2ndlargest recipient of R&D funding and holds the3rdmost patents of any institution in the nation.

Michigan State University’sFacility for Rare Isotope Beams discovered new isotopes just a few months ago.

Wayne State University’sTechTown Detroit has supported more than6,000businesses and raised more than$400 millionin capital. But out of a sample of231high-tech startups originally founded in Michigan, justhalfremain.

Which begs the question:howcan we support innovators,growMichigan’s economy,andset our state up for sustained success?

I’lltalk about the three Cs of innovation—culture, capital, and creativity—and unveil new tools to build on our economic development record andunleashMichigan innovation.

Michiganders are innovators.

Dr. Homer Strykerfrom Kalamazoo built a medical tech empire.

Elijah McCoyfrom Detroit filed 57 patents, including a portable ironing board, a lawn sprinkler, and a device that lubricated train parts as they wererunning.There’sa joke here…

Sherman Poppinfrom Muskegon needed a way to entertain his two daughters one snowy Christmas, so he stuck two skis together and called his new board “thesnurfer.” It would later be called the snowboard.

Bill Postinvented the Pop-Tart—as dramatized in Jerry Seinfeld’s new movie. Kids really owe us…and so do dentists.

James Vernorinvented Vernor’s ginger ale—a delicious pop, and as my grandma Gretchen and mom Sherry believed,the cure toliterally everyailment.

Anna Bissellsold the sweeper that she and her late husband patented together, going on to become the first woman CEO in America.

There are so many others:

Andof coursewe all know the most famous Michigan innovation:automobile manufacturing. At the turn of the twentieth century, Michigan had some natural advantages: railroads, waterways, timber, and ore.

Putting lines on the road and installing the first ever traffic light at the corner of Woodward and Michigan was just step one.

Thencame the assembly line and the Model T, which took the world by storm. By 1940,60%of the world’s cars were assembled in Michigan. Aspiring auto innovatorsfloodedMichigan andfoundednew companies likeGMandChrysler. Michigan was thecenter of the action.

For centuries, innovatorsdroveMichigan forward,solved problems, andpushed boundariesin the process. They proved that innovation isinfectious.One idea leads to more. This cycle quickly becomes self-perpetuating. It bringsnew ideas, people, jobs, and opportunities to our communities.

Starting thatvirtuouscycle comes down to a few things:

We have made progress in many of these areas. But today,let’sgo further.

It starts with the three Cs I mentioned earlier. Culture…Capital…Creativity.You know I love alliteration. The truth is entrepreneurs needall threeto thrive.

They need to feel represented in theculture.Capitalto make audacious bets on their ideas. And fewer barriers tocreativity.

First, culture. We must build aculture of innovationand make Michigan a place where innovators and entrepreneurs feelseenandheard.

Wecan’tdo this alone. It takespioneers. Thankfully, we have some doing work every day in places likeCorktown, supported by organizations likeBlack Tech Saturdaysand theMichigan Founders Fund. Next week, many will move into a revitalizedMichigan Central Station. I want to thank Bill Ford for his leadership to get this done.You may know him as Sheila’s brother!

They are on the ground, making a concerted effort to build a sense of community and accelerate the innovations that will drive Michigan forward. Our job is to have their backs by making sure they feel seen and represented.

Today, I am pleased to announce a new team member at the MEDC who will serve as Michigan’s chief advocate andfirstpoint of contact for entrepreneurs.

Ben Marchionnawill be Michigan’s first-ever Chief Innovation Ecosystem Officer.

Let’sgive Ben a hand. He will help build a community of innovation in Michigan whereeveryfounder and dreamerknowsthey have a voice in state government.

Second,capital. Ask any entrepreneur what they would do if money were no object, andyou’llget an earful of ideas. Every entrepreneur knows theirnextbig idea. Access to capital can spur innovation likenothingelse.

That’swhy, last January in the state of the state, I proposed anInnovation Fundto invest inhigh-growthstartups and createthousandsof jobs.

Today, I am excited to announcePitchMI.

PitchMIwill be a statewide, shark-tank-style competition helping innovators address the biggest problems facing Michigan.PitchMIwillidentifya challenge that Michigan innovators will rise to meet. The state, in partnership with leading organizations, will host a public competition tosolicitpitches and then invest in the most innovative start-up. That start-up will then be able to take the capital and make a real difference.

Have you heard of Ring Doorbells or Kodiak Cakes? Those companiesdidn’tget a deal on Shark Tank.PitchMIwill draw attention and exposure for hundreds of promising upstarts making a difference here in Michiganevenif theydon’twin.

The 1st PitchMItopic isvery nearand dear to my heart. This year,PitchMIwillidentifyand award$100,000to the next innovative idea inroads and mobility!We’reaskinga very simplequestion: how will you help Michiganders get from point A to point Bsafely,affordably, andefficiently?

Is it a new way to fix the roads? Improve therange and efficiencyof electric vehicle batteries? Connect public transit systems?

I enjoy watching others express their creativity, likeJahmyrGibbs,Sam LaPorta, andJameson Williamswho all drew their own Lions logos.

I even took astabat painting the logo myself during the Draft last month.

Creativity is important, butit’simpossible to be creative in a vacuum...unlessyou’reAnna Bissell.Butevendrawing thatsimple,very accurateLions logo required paint, a canvas, some inspiration, practice, and patience.

The same is true for the big stuff. To research, test, develop, and commercialize a new idea, you need equipment, facilities, tools, andexpertise. Sometimes those fundamentals just cost too much or are inaccessible. And while accessdoesn’tguarantee success,lackof access is a complete barrier.

TakeRemora. They are building next-gen hardware inWixomto capture semitruck carbon emissions. But to test wear and tear on their product, theyneedaccess to a piece of large, expensive equipment called achassis dynamometer.Basically, atreadmill for a truck.I know,it’shard to believe peopledon’tjust have those in their garages.

With access to this device, Remora can subject their prototype to the harshest conditions imaginable, make changes, and build a better product. In a word:innovate. But when Remora was an early-stage startup and needed a chassis dynamometer, the most affordable one was$188,000—and inIndiana.

Not helpful. Michigan hasexactlywhat Remora and other startups need. State and local governments, universities, civic organizations, and the military have some of the mostcutting-edgeequipment and specialized testing facilities. But too often,they’reinaccessible.

Today,let’sstart building out whatI’mcalling the “Infrastructure for Innovation” right here in Michigan.

Earlier, I signed anexecutive directiveinstructing state agencies to cataloguetechnology,equipment, andfacilitiesacross the state and work with the owners to make it available to the innovators who need it.

Just this morning, thanks to theBiden-Harris Administration, we announced an expansion ofProject Diamond,a partnership between Automation Alley and Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties that will use federal funding to connect manufacturers with a network of 3D printers.

We will alsoenter intoaMemorandum of Understandingwith the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to make infrastructure like the chassis dynamometer at the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center accessible to Michigan innovators. This MOU, the first of many to come, expands access totalent,testing facilities, andequipment.

I want to recognize the Adjutant General,Major General Paul Rogers, for being a steadfast partner.

Michigan will be thefirststate in the nation to get this done, and theonlyone to take such astrategic,proactiveapproach to open the infrastructure for innovation.

Together, these three actions will strengthen our comprehensive economic development strategy.

Here’sa quote: “many of the factories have left Michigan. One of our greatest corporations is building 14 new plants—seven of them in Ohio but none in Michigan. Western and Southern states particularly are doing their utmost to lure industry from Michigan.”Thatwas Republican Governor Kim Sigler…in1947.

Not a bad looking guy, by the way, especiallycompared to most of the pictures in my office. We think kids these days like their beards, but Michigan governors really had a thing for mutton chops.These guys inspire me every day.

Governor Sigler’s solution? “A working committee of research talent in agencies, colleges, and institutions to coordinate the state’s economic fields and utilize all of its research facilities in economic development.” Sound familiar?

We worked together in 2021, guided by the same principles and instincts that drove Governor Sigler, to putpowerfuleconomic development tools in our toolbox that have helped us win transformationalprojectscreating thousands of high-tech jobs in Detroit, Flint, Big Rapids, Bay City, and Van Buren Township.

We’veredefined our story. Just years ago, TIME called Detroit a “tragedy.” Now: Detroit is one of theworld’s greatest places. Since I took office, we announced more than38,000good-paying auto jobs.We’rehome to the#1emerging startup ecosystem and the “next Silicon Valley” for mobility innovation.

Just a couplemilesaway from where the first concrete road in Michigan was paved,Electreonis building thefirstunder-the-road electric vehicle charging station. Detroit’s population is growing for the first time innearly70years.

Since last year’s conference, we worked with business, labor, environmental leaders, and others to invest in ourplacesandpeopleandbuild a workforcethat drivesinnovation.

We:

We put Michiganin the leadon President Biden’s clean energy boom…poweredwind and solar projects across our state…andenacted a100%clean energy standard by2040…

We will soon be thefirststate in our nation’s history torestart a nuclear power plant.That’swhat the President would call a BFD…

We won manufacturing projects from Corning, Piston Automotive, and so many more.

Andwe’remaking thelargestinvestment to build affordable housing in Michigan history—andjustyesterday we raised our housing goal.

We’vemade alotof progress and kept on telling our story.

Recently,we’vefelt something that has always been embodied by our people and defines the spirit of our state:hope.

We should believe in MichiganANDwe should brag about Michigan. Last month, we hosted a kickass NFL Draft!

We brought our trademark Michigan swagger and pride to theoccasion, andshowed a record-breaking crowd of more than750,000fansa great time.Coach Campbell,GM Brad Holmes, and ownerSheila Hampmade some great picks, and the Lions are ready to roar back into the playoffs this fall.

So, my fellow Michiganders, we have an opportunity to tell the next chapter of our story.Let’s get to workbuilding an innovation ecosystem that is theenvyof other states.Let’skeepgrowingMichigan’s economy andpopulation.Let’sbuild a bridge to the future and create a moreinnovative,prosperous, andstrongMichigan. Thank you.

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