Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders revealed recently that she will be naming Clint O’Neal as Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. O’Neal has served as deputy director of global business at the AEDC since 2018.
“I am ready to unleash my vision to make Arkansas the best place in the nation to start and grow a business alongside Clint O’Neal, who will serve as Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission,” Gov. Sanders said. “His nearly two decades of experience in this field will be invaluable as we work together with Secretary Hugh McDonald to foster a pro-business, pro-worker environment, attracting companies across the nation – and world – to bring thousands of high-paying jobs to Arkansas.”
As Deputy Director, O’Neal leads several of the agency’s divisions, including Business Development, Existing Business, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development, Marketing, Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise, Film, and Military Affairs. He has nearly two decades of experience in the field of economic development as a project manager at the AEDC and as Vice President of Business Recruitment for the Missouri Partnership.
“The team at AEDC is full of talented economic development professionals who believe in the mission and work every day to make Arkansas a top business destination. I’m honored and excited to lead the organization that gave me the opportunity to start my career in economic development over 15 years ago,” O’Neal said.
“With his wealth of experience in economic development and his passion for supporting businesses and communities in Arkansas, Clint is a natural fit to lead AEDC,” said Hugh McDonald, secretary of the Department of Commerce. “Clint has a proven record of reliable leadership and he has demonstrated that he knows what it takes to bring new capital investment into our state and win new jobs for Arkansans. I have full confidence that AEDC will thrive under Clint’s leadership and, by extension, so will Arkansas.”
O’Neal is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council and earned a master’s in community and economic development from the University of Central Arkansas.
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