In March 2024, Curia conducted an interview with Jenna Saucedo-Herra, President and CEO at greater: SATX, who was on a tour of the UK to spread the word about her organisation. greater: SATX is an economic development organisation for San Antonio, Texas which has recently received major inward investment from the UK.
Since becoming the CEO of the company, Saucedo-Herrera has been a driving force behind securing 28,000 new jobs in San Antonio and bringing in $7bn in capital investment. During the interview, she spoke about how a new trade deal between the UK and Texas will aid her company and how greater: SATX could revolutionise cybersecurity in the UK.
An Insight into greater: SATX
Saucedo-Herrera started the interview by providing an insight into the company and why she has been spending time in London. She said, “We are the regional economic development organisation representing San Antonio, Texas, and that’s exactly what brought me to London. We’re here to tell companies all over the UK all about San Antonio, our value proposition, our high growth industries – like cybersecurity, bioscience, and advanced manufacturing – and we’ve had a very productive visit.”
How a New Trade Deal Between Texas and the UK Will Impact greater: SATX
Her visit to the UK coincided with a visit from the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who was over to sign a new trade agreement between Texas and the UK. Explaining how that trade agreement impacts her work at greater: SATX, she said,
“The trade agreement is significant and a great deal for us in San Antonio and really across Texas. The majority of foreign direct investment projects that we have in the state of Texas are coming out of the UK, so there’s something to be said for the relationships that we have historically established.”
“What we have now is relationships at the highest levels within government, on our side, certainly. And within the various MPs who are involved, and certainly, the prime minister, who also visited with Governor Abbot.”
“So, when those doors are open and those relationships are established, it allows us the opportunity to say, look, we have the support of Governor Abbott, we’re here to tell you the story about why Texas is right for your investment and then why our respective communities, like San Antonio, are well positioned as well.”
President and CEO of greater: SATX, Jenna Saucedo-Herra
Assisting the UK With Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is rising up the agenda in British politics at a rapid rate. And in 2022, the Government released their Cyber Security Strategy for 2022-2030, which outlined how they were planning on building a cyber-resilient public sector, with cyber-attacks becoming more frequent.
A big part of greater: SATX’s work revolves around cybersecurity and Saucedo-Herra believes that the expertise in San Antonio could prove to be invaluable to the UK on this front. She said,
“The majority of companies that we have visited here in the UK are cybersecurity, information security types of organisations that are looking at scaling up their operations. They want to scale up their operations in North America and are trying to figure out which location makes sense for them.”
“San Antonio happens to be exactly that, thanks in large to the cybersecurity professionals that we have in San Antonio. We have the largest joint army base in the United States, so, annually, we see about 2000 veterans retiring out of active duty. That’s 2000 folk who have security clearances and the skill sets to support these types of cybersecurity companies.”
The Scope for Further Local Trade Deals With the UK
The new agreement with Texas is the UK’s eighth local trade deal with a specific state rather than the USA as a whole. With elections looming in both countries and opposition parties currently favourites to win, the future of these types of deals is perhaps up in the air.
However, speaking about how this deal got over the line and her advice to other states looking for similar deals, Saucedo-Herra said,
“I think, first and foremost, elect the right leaders that are pro-business and pro-economic development. The way that economic development is structured in Texas makes it conducive for us to have these types of conversations all over the world.”
“We’re having conversations in the UK but we’re also going to be in South Korea and Japan this year, and we were just in India with the Governor in January of this year. The way that we’re structured in the state of Texas, because we are so large and spread out, economic development is decentralised.”
“Governor Abbott has his office of Economic Development, and Adriana Cruz and her team are coupled with a sister organisation that is funded by private industry, and that’s the Texas Economic Development Corporation. So, we and multiple other private organisations invest in the Texas Economic Development Corporation to help us market around the world.”
“I think that this dynamic is what has enabled Texas to be relevant in these types of conversations and that has allowed us to get these types of deals over the goal line.”
Final Thought:
Saucedo-Herra highlights the UK-Texas trade deal’s pivotal role in boosting greater: SATX and San Antonio’s economic prospects. She stresses the significance of established governmental relationships and the potential for increased investment. With a focus on cybersecurity, San Antonio’s expertise could significantly benefit the UK’s cyber resilience.
