Meet the organization that does the work that brings work here

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When you think of economic development in San Antonio, you think of JCB’s new North American manufacturing plant under construction on the South Side, Toyota’s recent announcement to expand its manufacturing operations, or Amegy Bank’s relocation of its headquarters from Central Texas to downtown San Antonio.

While attracting global companies is a big part of Greater:SATX’s work, the organization also helps grow the companies that already call San Antonio home.

San Antonio has long been a beacon of business growth and innovation. At the heart of this thriving landscape is the Greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership, the organization leading the development and diversification of San Antonio’s regional economy through the location and expansion of quality employers and job-creating investments.

The organization’s goal is to develop, attract and retain jobs that provide economic mobility to the more than 2.6 million people who live in the San Antonio region. It does this by recruiting new businesses, helping local businesses grow, aligning workforce development efforts, addressing the most critical issues impacting the San Antonio region’s growth, and promoting the region as a great place to live, work and grow a business.

As the region’s leading economic development organization, Greater:SATX doesn’t just change horizons. It has a profoundly positive impact on people by bringing new jobs and opportunities to the San Antonio region that enable families to grow, thrive, maintain their well-being and achieve their goals faster than in markets of comparable size.

“We are the only economic development organization in the region that brings together our partners at all levels of government and the business community to leverage our regional assets that make SATX the ideal place to grow a business,” said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, President and CEO of Greater:SATX. “This collaboration, in turn, creates more jobs, which means more economic mobility for area residents by creating pathways to prosperity.”

Founded nearly 50 years ago, Greater:SATX now represents the Greater San Antonio region, which includes eight counties including Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson counties. The foundational elements of the organization’s strategy are based on three pillars: people, place and jobs.

People

Recognized for its role in training the region’s workforce, developing, retaining and attracting top talent, greater:SATX operates San Antonio’s largest work-integrated learning program. Through its internship program, the organization has connected nearly 30,000 high school students with career awareness and paid internship opportunities at more than 550 regional employers, including BioBridge Global, Methodist Healthcare Ministries, Southwest Research Institute, University of Texas at San Antonio and USAA.

The organization is also a national leader in implementing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Talent Management Framework across six industries. The goal is to identify critical hiring needs of regional employers and drive alignment with training providers to prepare the region’s workforce to meet current and projected job growth.

Thanks to initiatives such as these, the region has increased its school graduation rate by 6.3% over the last five years to 41.9%.

Place

The quality of local investment and the marketing of the San Antonio region as a unique, culturally rich, collaborative and business-friendly region is driven by a bigger reason: SATX.

This includes supporting the development of air services to target markets, including the recently established non-stop flight to Querétaro, making business easier and more efficient for San Antonio-based companies like Toyota supplier Avanzar Interior Technologies to access their operations in and around Querétaro.

San Antonio recently celebrated its first nonstop transatlantic flight to Frankfurt, Germany. Beyond military ties, Germany is home to several major industries that have a presence in the San Antonio area.

As the need for more direct air service grows, greater:SATX is taking notice and working with San Antonio International Airport, Visit San Antonio and other partners to successfully establish nonstop flights.

At the same time, Greater:SATX showcases the San Antonio region to the world through global marketing and public relations initiatives that help raise our region’s Net Promoter Score to 49, a strong score for a consumer brand. Of note is its Life Works Greater program^SM campaign promoting a better quality of life in San Antonio.

Jobs

Greater:SATX’s economic development team works to attract new jobs to targeted sectors in the region and help existing employers expand. It strives to develop a pipeline of potential job-creating business investment by attracting global companies.

Since 2021, greater:SATX has supported the creation of more than 13,000 new jobs and over $5 billion in capital investment. The organization has helped companies such as Victory Capital, Toyota, Navistar, Aisin, PenFed and JCB establish new operations in the region.

While attracting new businesses is critical, supporting existing businesses is equally important. In fact, approximately 80% of new jobs created in Texas each year are created by existing businesses. greater:SATX’s Business Engagement and Growth team provides regional employers in our target industries with a full suite of services to retain and expand their local operations through workforce development, advocacy, international market expansion, infrastructure and real estate.

Through these three pillars, Greater:SATX ensures that the region is competitively positioned to support growth and prosperity.

The impact of the organization’s recent initiatives is reflected in the significant increase in the San Antonio Business Cycle Index, which increased 4.4% annualized from March to April. By June 2024, more than :SATX:

Won 16 projects that are expected to bring 1,525 new high-wage jobs and $857 million in new capital investment to the greater San Antonio area.
Guides more than 50 companies through the site selection process with the potential to create 14,000 new jobs and $9.2 billion in capital investment.

After nearly 50 years of learning, growing and working hard to improve its community and build a thriving economy, greater:SATX’s momentum is at an all-time high.