Location USA 2015: A Letter from Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director, SelectUSA, U.S. Department of Commerce
The past few years have been exciting ones for investment in the United States. The U.S. economy is growing and companies are expanding: as of February 2015, there have been 60 straight months of job growth.
Location USA 2015
At the SelectUSA 2015 Investment Summit, President Barack Obama hosted a sold-out crowd of more than 2,500 people from more than 70 international markets and nearly every U.S. state and territory. President Obama, joined by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and five other members of his Cabinet, made it clear that the United States is open for business and warmly welcomes foreign investors.
Investments are made company by company, location by location. As you consider where and how to make your investment, please consider us to be at your service. SelectUSA is the U.S. federal government program to facilitate business investment by assisting companies and U.S. economic development organizations. Housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce, SelectUSA coordinates across the U.S. government to serve as a single point of contact for information and connections. We act as an ombudsman, assisting investors to navigate the federal government and address regulatory questions.
To learn how we can help you, please visit www.SelectUSA.gov. We congratulate Area Development for another successful annual edition of LocationUSA. This publication has been a valuable resource for the economic development community, and we look forward to continuing our work together.
Sincerely,
Vinai Thummalapally
Executive Director
SelectUSA
U.S. Department of Commerce
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Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director, SelectUSA U.S. Department of Commerce
Vinai Thummalapally serves as executive director of SelectUSA, part of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Established by Executive Order of the President, SelectUSA is the U.S. government-wide initiative to attract and retain business investment in the United States. Ambassador Thummalapally brings a wealth of experience from both the private and public sectors. President Obama appointed him ambassador to Belize in 2009, where he served until 2013. He also has had a distinguished 31-year career in the private sector. Prior to joining the foreign service, Ambassador Thummalapally served as president of MAM-A Inc., formerly Mitsui Advanced Media; plant manager of WEA Manufacturing Inc., a division of Time Warner Inc.; the managing director for Clines Printing and Office Products; and manufacturing manager of Disc Manufacturing, Inc. Originally from Hyderabad, India, Ambassador Thummalapally received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University in 1977 and completed postgraduate Business Administration courses from Cal State University in 1980 and the University of Tennessee in 1995.
