Holcomb looks back as term nears end
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGov. Eric Holcomb is reflecting on his two terms and the growth of Indiana’s economy as he prepares to leave office.
“To think that we have a New Albany and a New Castle and a New Haven and a New Carlisle—it’s really a new Indiana,” Holcomb said in an extended sit down interview with Inside INdiana Business Host Gerry Dick. “We’ve always been obviously a powerhouse when it comes to ag and ag biotech and life sciences and advanced manufacturing. Now we’re increasingly finding ourselves planning for what we want to be in 2030 and 2040.”
Holcomb’s eight years in office were marked by record economic development numbers and major investment from some of the biggest names in business, including Eli Lilly and Co., Amazon and Meta.
“Those long-term investments, those strategic investments, really have made a difference in terms of not just the growth, but the new opportunity that will be here [and] not somewhere else,” Holcomb said. “I think Indiana has really hit our groove in terms of alignment of mission and purpose.”
In 2024, Indiana broke its record for committed capital investments in the first three quarters of the year. The previous record was set in all of 2023. In the first two quarters, Indiana saw big number commitments from major companies such as SK Hynix, Eli Lilly & Co., Google, Microsoft, and Toyota.
Holcomb says having higher education institutions involved with company conversations is giving Indiana an advantage.
“Companies all over the world, they understand that we’re serious about not just getting folks hired for the initial phase, but a lot of these companies are making investments, big investments, that will require phase two, phase three [and] up to phase six. They have to … plan for the new types of jobs in the next decade. That requires Purdue, IU, Notre Dame [and] Ivy Tech being at the table right now and having a plan in place,” Holcomb said. “I think that alignment in the strategic approach on both sides of the table, the company and the state, has yielded some unprecedented results.”
As construction continues on data centers and other emerging businesses, Holcomb says workforce is “absolutely unfinished business” and that upskilling and talent retention will be necessary.
Progress is also being made at the LEAP Innovation and Research District in Lebanon, where Lilly has said it will invest more than $13 billion. Last month Meta, the parent company of Facebook, struck a tentative deal with Lebanon that could eventually mean an investment of up to $4.8 billion at LEAP.
“People, wherever I go around the world or the country or the state, know the Lilly name and what it means to their well-being…I can be sitting in King Faisal Hospital in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and one of the first things out of the hospital administrator’s mouth is ‘we do business with Eli Lilly,’ just to let me know. We’re bigger than, you know, the Indy 500 and Larry Bird. Now, Eli Lilly is just as big in the corporate sector, and so for them to be able to grow, it means the world to our reputation and stature in terms of how we grow alongside corporate intentions.”
Holcomb took 27 international economic development trip as governor with the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
“We have to more than farm; we have to be hunters as well. We have to cultivate the fields and the factory floors here in the state of Indiana, and continue to be a powerhouse in advanced manufacturing. We also have to go out and hunt and bring back bounty. The companies of the future that are discovering and innovating and inventing, they’re looking for partners that are doing both.”
As he looked back on his time as governor, Holcomb says he’s disappointed that there hasn’t been more progress in terms of infant and maternal mortality rates.
“I’m a bit disappointed I wasn’t persuasive enough to get pregnancy accommodations passed through the legislature in the corporate sector and in the private sector. We did it in our administration [in] state government, but I thought that was pro-business; I thought that was pro good culture,” Holcomb said. “There are a number of items that I’ll always remember…I probably hold on to those closer than I do the wins just because we couldn’t get it done, but it doesn’t mean that we didn’t have really good people working on those issues. In total and on whole, [I’m] really proud of the team and what we were able to achieve.”
When asked about what he’ll remember, Holcomb talked about economic development deals as well as several major projects that have been completed during his administration.
“About 80% of our deals at the IEDC are small, medium-sized business deals. They don’t get the coverage, but some of them are really special,” Holcomb said. “Just finishing or starting major capital projects: finishing I-69, which took three governors starting and finishing, double tracking the South Shore Line, West Lake Corridor, making significant progress on 31…what I’m most eager to see is where we are 20 years from now. We have built a foundation or a launching pad for any company that wants to grow today for their tomorrow.”
READ MORE: South Shore president not ruling out May opening of West Lake Corridor
After the interview, Holcomb took Dick upstairs to share some of his collections, including a signature from every U.S. President and lots of baseball cards. You can watch that tour in the player below.
After he leaves office, Holcomb says he plans to shower his wife Janet with affection and take time to breathe. Career wise, Holcomb tells us he hasn’t told anyone yes but has turned down some offers.