Tom Croteau has spent much of his career looking at economic development from two very different chairs.
He began in economic development in the late 1980s, eventually spending nearly 24 years with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and serving as deputy commissioner for his final six years with the state. In 2019, he joined Maxis Advisors, where he now works directly with companies making location and investment decisions.
That makes Croteau particularly interesting to us at Location Decision: He knows what it feels like to represent a place, and he knows what changes when your responsibility shifts to the company considering it.
We caught up with Croteau about that transition, the growing importance of risk in site selection, what good economic development looks like from the other side of the table—and why the strongest pitch isn't necessarily the one that pretends everything is perfect.
LOCATION DECISION: Let's start with your path. How did you get into economic development and eventually site selection?
TOM CROTEAU: I really got into economic development all the way back in the late 1980s. I was an economics major at Florida State and did an internship with the Florida Chamber of Commerce. When I moved to Atlanta, I interviewed with the Metro Atlanta Chamber for a research job, and that's how I got into economic development in 1989.
I spent some years there, worked in economic development for an electric utility in Georgia, and then joined the Georgia Department of Economic Development. I spent almost 24 years there in various roles and was deputy commissioner for my final six years before moving to the private side.
What draws people into economic development is making an impact. You feel like you're waking up every day having an impact on your community or your state, and that's a really special feeling.
I love what I'm doing now, too, because you're closer to the client and representing their interests. I sometimes say I'm now an “economic developer without borders.” You're trying to find the best long-term solution for the client.
LD: After spending so long representing Georgia, what did you understand differently once you started advising companies?
CROTEAU: When you're working for a state or community, you have a particular role. Georgia has 159 counties, and when you're representing the state, you have to try to love all your children equally. Your job is to tell the positive story about the state, its communities and its sites.
On the advisory side, there's a story to be told on both sides of the ledger. There are pros and cons, and you have to understand both to determine the best solution for the client.
I enjoyed working with consultants when I was at the state, but I probably have a greater appreciation now for what their job requires: really understanding both sides of that ledger.
LD: Did moving across the table change the way you think about the relationship between economic developers and consultants?
CROTEAU: Economic developers have a very short amount of time with a client, and naturally they're trying to show that they're part of an ecosystem that can help solve problems. They're putting their community or state in the best possible light. That's their role.
As an advisor, your responsibility is different. You have to get very serious about the analysis and the data. What can actually be counted on? What are the risk factors? You need to bring those things to the surface so they can be assessed.
That's not a criticism of economic developers. It's simply a different responsibility. One side is explaining why a place can work; the other has to determine what could prevent it from working.
LD: What are you working on now, and what are companies asking you to solve?
CROTEAU: A lot of the work ultimately comes back to helping companies understand risk around major investment decisions.
These projects have become enormously capital intensive. Companies need to understand not just whether a location looks good on paper, but whether the project can actually be executed there: the infrastructure, workforce, permitting, timing and other factors that can affect an investment.
The question isn't simply, “Can we do this here?” It's understanding what could go wrong, how likely those things are and how they would be addressed.
LD: Has that changed as projects have gotten larger and more complicated?
CROTEAU: Absolutely. When you're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars—or more—the consequences of getting something wrong become much greater.
Everything has become more automated and capital intensive. That makes site selection increasingly an exercise in risk management. Companies need confidence that the assumptions behind a location decision are real and that the people involved can deliver.
LD: There's an enormous amount of data available now, and AI is making even more of it accessible. Does that change the consultant's role?
CROTEAU: Data is incredibly important, and these tools can make research and analysis much more efficient.
But there is still enormous value in relationships and experience. You need to know whether the information you're looking at can actually be relied upon. Sometimes that means picking up the phone and talking to someone you trust who understands the market.
The tools will continue improving. The human side—the relationships, judgment and ability to validate what you're seeing—remains extremely important.
“Don’t tell me nothing can go wrong. Tell me what can go wrong.”
LD: From the consultant's chair, what does a really good economic development partner look like?
CROTEAU: Someone who answers questions honestly and understands that they don't have to pretend everything is perfect.
Every location has challenges. Experienced companies and consultants know that. What matters is whether people understand those challenges, are transparent about them and can explain how they're going to address them.
If there's a hurdle, acknowledge the hurdle. Then tell us how we're going to overcome it, how long that may take, who needs to be involved and how we'll work together if something doesn't go according to plan.
That creates confidence.
LD: So a community doesn't necessarily hurt itself by acknowledging a problem?
CROTEAU: No. In many cases, the opposite can be true.
Don't tell me nothing can go wrong. Tell me what can go wrong.
If permitting normally takes a certain amount of time, don't give me only the optimal scenario. Give me the range. Tell me what could cause a delay. Tell me who we'll need to talk to if that happens and how we're going to resolve it.
Companies aren't necessarily looking for a place without problems. They're trying to understand whether the problems are solvable and whether they can trust the people they'll be solving them with.
LD: You've seen this business from both sides of the table now. At the end of the day, what actually makes a place win?
CROTEAU: I think it's confidence and trust.
There are going to be hurdles. Different sites and different places will have different ones. What matters is having the trust and forthrightness not to gloss over those obstacles, but to take them head-on.
Companies want assurances about how things will be addressed, what the timing looks like and how everyone will work together transparently.
The perfect site doesn't really exist.
It becomes much more about solvable problems, trusted relationships and the experience to get things done.