Maryland’s new Secretary of Commerce Kevin Anderson is currently making his way around the state with Gov. Wes Moore.
He’s taking part in a cabinet meeting road tour, in which the governor’s full executive council will visit each jurisdiction to engage with local communities and highlight innovative projects and thriving businesses. But the tour is also an opportunity for Anderson — a largely unknown figure in Maryland government — to introduce himself to local leaders.
In one of his first steps to make himself known to the state’s business community, Anderson sat down with the Baltimore Business Journal for an interview in February where he spoke about his desire to keep up efforts to recruit new companies to Maryland and preserve the state’s business-friendly position. He also shared his outlook on Baltimore, what he’s watching in the Maryland General Assembly and his goal to fill job vacancies in his department.
The BBJ also spoke with Anderson about his career history, which most recently involved serving as founder and CEO of Cardinal Atlantic Holdings, a one-man economic and community development consulting firm, as well as how he came to know Moore and was offered his new, high-profile state position.
Up first, Anderson will begin the work of getting to know his Department of Commerce team and the economic development agencies of the state’s 23 counties and Baltimore City. He recognizes the critical role such agencies play in understanding how a market, neighborhood and community function, and he wants to learn from them.
