Gov. Jay Nixon has named Jason Hall as the new director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
Hall is currently the executive director of the Missouri Technology Corporation.
Nixon’s office says in his new position, Hall will oversee continued implementation of the Missouri Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth, the five-year blueprint developed by the Nixon administration and business leaders throughout the state.
In 2009, Nixon appointed Hall to lead the Missouri Technology Corporation, where Nixon says he oversaw the transformation and rejuvenation of the organization and its mission of supporting the growth of high-tech scientific and technology companies in the state.
“Hall was instrumental in the development of Missouri’s competitive application for the State Small Business Credit Initiative, a program that is investing $27 million in high-tech, small-business growth and job creation in Missouri,” Nixon says. “The two programs developed under Missouri’s SSBCI application, the IDEA and Grow Missouri loan programs, have been recognized nationally as models other states should follow.”
The MTC also has supported a number of key initiatives to develop entrepreneurial talent in Missouri and to help entrepreneurs transform bright ideas into successful and growing entrepreneurial companies, including firms like Pulse Therapeutics, Leinco Technologies, Newsy.com, Soy Labs, and SCD Probiotics. The MTC also played a key role in attracting a major investment from DuPont/Pioneer for a biotech facility in the Bootheel.
“Jason Hall is exactly the type of bright, energetic leader we need to help create jobs and move Missouri’s economy forward,” Nixon says. “Under Jason’s leadership, the Missouri Technology Corporation has developed into a strong force for innovation and job-creation in our state. Our successful IDEA and Grow Missouri loan programs have been recognized nationally and are models for other states to follow, and the legislature and Missourians also have embraced Jason’s leadership at MTC, as shown by the strong support for our innovative MOSIRA legislation.
“With his strong background at the MTC and his stellar academic record, I know Jason will bring energy, dedication and professionalism to his new position as director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.”
Nixon is complimentary of David Kerr for his strong leadership of the Department of Economic Development over the past two years, and says he looks forward to continuing to work closely with Hall to implement the Missouri Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth, create more jobs in high-growth industries, and keep Missouri’s economy moving forward.
Hall says he looks forward to working with Nixon as Missouri turns the corner “after a tough national downturn, and our economy is beginning to move in the right direction.”
Hall earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1997 from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2002, where he was editor in chief of the Vanderbilt Law Review.
Hall served a one-year appointment as a law clerk for the Hon. Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Jacksonville, Fla., and then worked as an attorney in private practice.