The St. Pete Economic Development Corporation brought together more than 200 civic leaders, business executives, and outside experts at its 9th Annual Meeting, “St. Pete: On the Map,” presented by Suncoast Credit Union to take stock of the city’s momentum and chart a course for what comes next. The event made a compelling case that St. Pete is no longer a well-kept secret — it’s a city on the rise.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood on why St. Pete is where the future is being built
ARK Invest founder, CEO, and CIO Cathie Wood has become one of the city’s most prominent champions since relocating her firm here, and her remarks at the annual meeting were a reminder of just how deeply she believes in St. Pete’s potential.
Wood described ARK’s decision to choose St. Pete in 2021 as one shaped by instinct and opportunity. After visiting cities across the country in search of a no-tax state, she said the city felt different — vibrant, community-oriented, and full of untapped potential. The comparison she keeps returning to: Southern California in the late 1960s, right before the region exploded. “I thought, wow, if anyone had invested in Southern California in the late 60s, can you imagine? Can you imagine? Anyway, so we get here and this is how blessed this community is.” She also drew comparisons to Austin, saying “We felt that this was where Austin, Texas was ten years ago, “and we thought, wow, we could make a difference here.”
Several assets stood out to her that she hadn’t fully anticipated before arriving. USF, as one of roughly 60 R1 research universities in the country, sits right in the region’s backyard — and it houses the Institute of Inventors, a major patent trove with real innovation potential. “I didn’t know that before I got here,” Wood admitted. “Had no idea.” The Dali Museum, where Wood now serves on the board, is leaning into digital art and technology in ways that echo Dalí’s own fascination with science. And spARK Labs, the former Tampa Bay Innovation Center that ARK helped ignite under new CEO Becca Brown, has gone from 25% occupied to 75% in roughly seven months — with Moffitt Cancer Center’s AI researchers now set to co-locate there. “I cannot tell you how exciting that is,” Wood said of the Moffitt partnership.
“What I love about St. Pete is we actually are greenfield in a way to enable these technologies,” she said. “We’re so young and so vibrant that we can introduce these technologies in a way that [others] cannot.”
Wood is particularly excited about the convergence of five major technology platforms she’s tracking at ARK: robotics, energy storage, artificial intelligence, public blockchain technology, and multiomics (the life sciences and health care frontier). These aren’t parallel tracks — they’re intersecting, creating what she described as “S-curves featuring S-curves.” AI-powered autonomous transportation, AI-driven health care, defense innovation through Palantir’s growing local presence — all of it is pointing toward a region with a rare greenfield opportunity. “What I love about St. Pete is we actually are greenfield in a way to enable these technologies,” she said. “We’re so young and so vibrant that we can introduce these technologies in a way that [others] cannot.”
Her vision for the region? Something like “South by Southeast” — not a festival for its own sake, but a showcase for converging technologies that positions St. Pete as a beacon for innovation. “We have a shot to do this,” she said of becoming the new Bay Area.
National trends impacting the Florida economy
Christopher Lloyd, Senior Vice President at McGuireWoods Consulting and a seasoned site selection consultant, offered the room something valuable — a national economic perspective on where Florida fits in a rapidly shifting landscape, and where St. Pete is especially well-positioned to benefit.
His presentation walked through seven data points that collectively reveal how much opportunity is available for communities willing to lean in.
The recession risk picture favors Florida. Moody’s Analytics data shows Florida performing exceptionally well relative to other states on recession risk — a genuine competitive foundation that gives this region room to think and invest boldly.
AI spending is the defining investment wave of our era. A Wall Street Journal analysis showed that projected 2026 capital spending by just four major tech companies equals about 2.1% of GDP — ten times what was spent on the Apollo space program. McKinsey projects $38 trillion in global AI and data center investment through 2030. With USF’s Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Computing already taking root and St. Pete’s Innovation District attracting AI researchers, the region is actively building the assets to be part of this wave. That said, Lloyd noted the need for Florida to figure out how to position itself in the AI discussion.
Foreign direct investment is surging into the U.S. The sectors capturing the most FDI — data centers, semiconductors, renewable energy — represent exactly the kind of high-capital, high-innovation industries this region can and should compete for. Florida’s geographic position as a gateway to Latin America adds further appeal.
Capital investment is the new currency of economic development. As capital intensity rises nationally, the communities that attract major investment will define the next generation of growth.
Defense spending is a major tailwind. The U.S. is now crossing $1 trillion in annual defense spending and global defense budgets are expanding. How can Florida leverage its existing assets — MacDill, SOCOM, and maritime capabilities along with Palantir’s recent Miami move — to make sure the state stays on top of the wave that’s coming with regard to defense spending?
Wealth is flowing into this region. Florida continues to attract significant inbound wealth migration from California, New York, and other high-tax states. The question Lloyd asked is, “How are you engaging the philanthropic community in the wealth community in this this area, which has a lot of it, to invest in the industries of the future, to invest in affordable housing, to invest in community investment, in community development and really make this community, prosper?”
Population growth is creating sustained demand. While the pace of net migration to Florida has moderated from its pandemic peak, the state continues to attract new residents, Lloyd noted that this area in particular is going to continue to be a net winner and that the region should continue to build and diversify the economy.
Educate, collaborate, and innovate. Lloyd’s prescription for this region was direct: educate, collaborate, and innovate. He made a point of emphasizing the power of regional collaboration saying “[I]f you’re not out there telling your story, no one else is. The education role of corporate decision makers and of elected officials and the citizenry in this country is so vitally important. You need to collaborate and you’re doing that in this community, bringing together all the stakeholders, those who care about affordable housing and those who care about community investment. “
“If you’re going to attract corporate investment to this community, you need to innovate. Educate, collaborate and innovate. That’s what’s going to be absolutely essential to the growth of this community. Y’all have got a lot of great opportunity here. [T]he world is changing and I know this community will rise to the occasion.”
He exhorted leaders in the region to work together, saying, “If you’re going to attract corporate investment to this community, you need to innovate. Educate, collaborate and innovate. That’s what’s going to be absolutely essential to the growth of this community. Y’all have got a lot of great opportunity here. [T]he world is changing and I know this community will rise to the occasion.”
Silicon Valley took 150 years — what’s St. Pete’s story?
Sean Ferguson, founder and CEO of Firetiger, delivered a talk called “Becoming St. Pete” that drew on his own journey from Santa Barbara through Silicon Valley to this city, and used it to reframe how communities should think about building innovation ecosystems.
The highlight of his presentation was a comparison of the popular view of Silicon Valley’s history to the real one. The popular view: orchards, then a sudden explosion of innovation. The real story: a 150-year arc beginning with the founding of UC Berkeley and Stanford in the 1860s, accelerated by World War II defense investment, shaped by the establishment of national laboratories, and then layered with venture capital, software, and ultimately the internet and social media. Silicon Valley Bank. Semiconductor companies. The dot-com era. And most recently, the return of defense as a cool and fundable space.
The lesson Ferguson drew for St. Pete is both grounding and motivating: you can’t build this overnight, but the foundations matter enormously — and St. Pete has some that are genuinely hard to replicate. “Yes, there are fluctuations year to year,” he said, “but there is a grand vision at play too.” USF’s R1 status. MacDill and SOCOM. A growing innovation infrastructure at spARK Labs and the Maritime and Defense Tech Hub. A community that actually works together. “Not everywhere can compete with those sorts of things,” he noted of the region’s research and defense assets.
“When I think about visiting all of these different communities,” he said, “the question I always ask is: could I ever see myself living there? And when I came here, it was very obvious that the answer was yes.”
Ferguson came to St. Pete for the first time last March, initially as a casual visitor. He came back for a familiarization tour organized by the EDC, and what he saw on that second trip — companies doing serious work, a coherent vision with real plans behind it — changed his perspective entirely. “When I think about visiting all of these different communities,” he said, “the question I always ask is: could I ever see myself living there? And when I came here, it was very obvious that the answer was yes.” His assessment was grounded and optimistic. The people of St. Pete are the city’s best renewable resource. The lifestyle is genuinely desirable. The city is doing impressive, visible things rather than just talking about them. And the regionalism opportunity — treating Tampa Bay as a unified ecosystem rather than a competitive arena — is one St. Pete is already well-positioned to lead.
Ferguson noted that unlike Santa Barbara, where great quality of life coexisted with limited professional opportunity, St. Pete is actively building the career infrastructure to match its lifestyle appeal. “You can have a nice life, but also have a place that you can actually develop a professional career,” he said. That combination — a place you want to live and a place you can build something real — is rare. And it’s exactly what draws companies and talent in. “I think you all are very lucky to live here and work here,” Ferguson concluded. “I see a lot of opportunity.”
New leadership: 2026 officers and Board of Governors
The annual meeting also marked the transition to new EDC leadership for 2026. The Investors present unanimously ratified the following officer slate:
Nick Hess, Fifth Third Bank — Chair
Travis Brown, Hancock Whitney — Chair-Elect
Dr. Kanika Tomalin, Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete — Secretary
Shaun McClung, CBIZ — Treasurer
John Moore, Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital — Immediate Past Chair
The 2026 Board of Governors includes representatives from a wide range of the region’s anchor institutions and growth sectors.
Looking ahead
The 2026 Scope of Work centers on three pillars: business recruitment, access and diversity, and investor relations and organizational operations. A new national PR campaign through Lou Hammond Group will amplify the city’s story beyond Florida’s borders. The EDC is participating in the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg’s Systems Change Leadership Cohort. And the EDC will continue to attract and engage community leaders as Investors committed to bringing new jobs, innovation, and investment to the people of St. Pete by attracting out of market companies to relocate or expand here.
As Cathie Wood made clear, St. Pete is organized, has a vision, and is young and vibrant enough to actually enable the innovation that will define the next decade — in ways that more established, congested markets simply cannot. The question isn’t whether the city is ready. The question is how much bigger this story gets from here.
