Interview with Alabama's Governor Bob Riley

If you ever wondered what an interview over the telephone with an important person sounds like, you're about to have that pressing need answered (scroll to bottom of this post for an mp3 recording of the interview I'm writing about here). Last week I had the opportunity to interview the governor of Alabama, Bob Riley, over the telephone. I used the time to get his impression of economic development in the state. I have to say he was good at promoting Alabama without sounding like he was making a sale--maybe because the state's successes have been quite legitimate and don't require any spin. Alabama has won big automaker investments, including final assembly plants from Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai; Toyota has a major engine plant there; and as the governor points out, the new Kia plant in Georgia is just barely over the border from Alabama, giving the state the chance to score big in the supplier game. (Makes sense, considering Kia and Hyundai are close corporate cousins sharing a great deal of parts between vehicle lineups.)

The other big thing coming up in Alabama is whether or not the EADS tanker deal goes through (see our August 2005 article here for the introduction). It's basically in the political realm now as to whether it happens, but if it does, it will create a ton of jobs and really cement an already well-known strength in aerospace for Alabama.

Gov. Riley seemed to be most proud of his state's advances in education (in worker training and primary education both, I believe). He does not try to cover up the fact that a lot of people still think education in the South, especially the "Deep South," is in the dark ages. Business leaders are educated people in general, but even they can fall prey to old misconceptions (or old truths). While I didn't get the sense that everything is where he wants it to be in terms of education, I also heard Gov. Riley telling our readers to give the state a new look in that regard. He's friendly enough that he'd probably be willing to explain things to you in person if you come down for a visit.

An edited transcript of this interview will appear in the November issue of Business Facilities. This audio recording, in mp3 format, is about 20 minutes long and only lightly edited. Gov. Riley is far from the first governor we've interviewed, but this is this first time we've ever made the tape available to the public. Actually, it's kind of a rare opportunity to hear a public official speak at length without any handlers, rehearsal, or post-production. I'd love to do this again with an official from another state, or with an executive from a company going through a major move.

(You should see a control appear below to allow you to play the file from within the page--if not, click here for the direct download of the mp3 file.)