Getting some perspective on Richard “Terry” McAuliffe, the 72nd Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is good. He can be larger than life when he winds up for a good story. It’s all in the name of public service. A businessman from age 14, with a driveway sealing and parking lot resurfacing business, 58-year-old McAuliffe observes he has never worked for anyone else. He has had experience in some 30 different fields, from nation’s youngest bank chairman, home builder and Florida real estate developer. What he likes most about that was having tried 30 different fields.
Terry McAuliffe grew up in Syracuse, NY, and has spent half his life as a volunteer raising a total of about $1 billion for the Democrats. From 2001-2005 alone he raised an unprecedented $½ billion for the Democratic National Committee.
At 23, he left Georgetown Law School (and a scholarship) to raise funds for the Carter/Mondale campaign. He went on to co-chair Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign and chair Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign. He followed his love of politics and temperate climate and moved to Northern Virginia to raise his family.
The governor is passionate about helping people, particularly if they are from the state that elected him. He told Startup Grind DC:
“I’m on a mission to bring as much business, industry, and investment as I can into Virginia…”
Less Military Spending, More Innovation
Gov. McAuliffe laid out the problem/solution: Government defense and military spending and related contracts awarded in Virginia are diminishing. The world’s biggest naval base is in Norfolk, VA. Sequestration is coming in October. The future requires non-military industries and that’s going to take the right infrastructure, workforce, and lots of money. He said:
“Our economy is changing...To be honest, folks, we are unique in Virginia as being the largest recipient of all military dollars. That’s great when the government is spending money, but not when we’re in a period of defense cuts.”
Gov. McAuliffe announced he is set on winning the new cyber security campus the White House is expected to spend billions building to consolidate its considerable security resources. He declared, nearly growling towards the end:
“The White House has announced it will be building a cyber security campus. I want that campus in Virginia.”
[Pause here for applause during a political speech.] Because he is addressing Startup Grind, instead of pausing, he outlines how he is attracting more investment, global business, and new industry to Virginia.
The U.S. Government is expected to spend millions on a cyber campus, and Virginia’s Governor says: “Virginia has a built-in advantage because Cyber is so related to defense, military. The Pentagon is in Virginia. Quantico already has a cyber presence with the FBI, which has a facility at Quantico. We have all the cabling, all the data centers, we are a natural place.”
Here’s how Virginia has been preparing to go after the Cyber Campus, it has:
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Created a Cyber Commission where the best cyber companies in the community advise the Governor’s office, which coordinates with the schools, and
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Named Richard Clarke, who advised the past three presidents on cyber security, to head his Cyber Commission.
Other Targeted Industries
Virginia’s other targeted industries also include:
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UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Industry. The Federal Government has designated Virginia as one of the six state sites, down at Virginia Tech, to develop and test UAV technology. They will coordinate with the Wallops Island launch pad. Virginia is building UAV testing infrastructure in parts of U.S. routes 495, 95, and 66. “I’m passionate about driverless cars,” says McAuliffe, “I’ve talked about this extensively with Senator Mark Warner, who got in early on cell phones, and he thinks this could be bigger.”
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Satellite Technology
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Human Genome Sequencing/Personalized Medicine
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Environmentally sound Energy sectory plays. Virginia is the first state to get an offshore lease for a wind turbine. The governor’s new solar development fund got Dominion Power to contribute $700 million. He says: “Solar, renewable energy is huge. New metering, energy efficiency are incentivized through our tax code.”
Startup Grind’s DC host, Brian Park, pitches him a softball and says: “Amazon just announced it is building the largest solar farm East of the Mississippi…”
McAuliffe goes to bat: “Where?”
Brian responds: “Virginia!”
McAuliffe connects: “Thank you!” Then, he adds for comic effect: “Why do you think?”
Learning the Limits
As a young entrepreneur, McAuliffe learned it could pay to go big and push the limits. By age 15 he tells of driving around town in a pickup truck with no driver’s license, no license plates, and a business card that named him as CEO of a driveway sealing and commercial parking lot resurfacing business. He learned from his mistakes along the way. The worst that happens, he says, is that you fail. It’s what you do the next day that matters.
“In 2009, I ran for governor on a platform of high speed rail, renewable energy...and said ‘If you don’t like my big ideas, don’t vote for me...and they didn’t! I got up the next day and got back to it and now I’m the governor of Virginia.”
McAuliffe made it clear that he’s got no time for gossip. He’s all about being positive, forward thinking, and helping Virginia transition into a new business era. He has the chops of a seasoned stand-up comedian. Listen to him tell a few stories on the taped interview from Startup Grind and you’ll hear the laughter escalate. He published a book with writer, Steve Kettmann, What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and other Wild Animals. Former president Bill Clinton’s book jacket soundbyte said:
“...Terry McAuliffe has discovered that laughter is the best survival strategy.”
Let’s hope his ambitious plans for Virginia keeps everyone laughing all the way to the bank.
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