My work for economic development corporations
I had been a corporate tax lawyer for approximately 10 years when I decided to switch to consultancy as I realized that I had found something I was genuinely passionate about: proactively targeting and connecting with existing and prospective companies and organisations.

This was during my time in the business development department at DLA Piper’s offices in Amsterdam. Before that I had always worked as a lawyer at international corporate law firms. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the business development department, I felt compelled to engage in business development opportunities which I spotted in a broader context than that within which a corporate law firm operates and therefore extended beyond the legal field. This prompted me to expand my horizons from the legal field to economic development.

Viewed from a perspective of the nature of my work as a lawyer versus my activities as a consultant, the main draw for me is the proactivity, creativity and professional freedom consultancy provides me, as opposed to my role as an attorney in the legal field which to me felt reactive and creatively restricted.

I enjoy being able to immerse myself in various topics, in addition to legal subjects, learning about different companies and businesses, and connecting with different types of professionals along the way, whilst using my experience and knowledge to match companies and organisations to optimise synergies. Contributing to the right fit feels immensely rewarding to me.

For me, consultancy is about observing and anticipating market and economic developments, analysing how this impacts specific companies and organisations, and acting accordingly.

Compared to my days as a lawyer, consultancy makes me feel like a kid in a professional playground.

Regional (US state wide) economic development corporations
The vast majority of American states have their own regional economic development corporations which – depending on the size of the state – may be further subdivided into multiple economic development corporations.

These corporations focus on economic growth by attracting new businesses. This has become especially apparent since the adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US which has seen numerous American states proactively engaging with EU cleantech companies with the aim to attract these to their respective states, and quite successfully. Volkswagen and Freyr are just a few examples of companies set to build battery factories in the US mainly due to the benefits they would enjoy under the Inflation Reduction Act.

But regional economic development corporations have been actively promoting their states long before anyone had ever heard of the Inflation Reduction Act. Michigan – famously home to Ford Motor Company – e.g. houses manufacturing plants of many international automotive and aerospace companies.

Services
Trade shows
There are a number of trade shows in Europe which attract exhibitors from industries that are especially interesting for various US states. A few examples are JEC World (focuses on Composites/Advanced manufacturing), Paris Air Show (focuses on Aerospace), IAA Munich (focuses on Mobility), SEMICON (focuses on Semiconductors), Composites Europe (focuses on Advanced Manufacturing), and MEDICA (focuses on Medical Devices).

Economic development corporations frequently send a delegation consisting of senior executives to these trade fairs in order to engage with organizations flagged as interested to work with said state.

I identify said companies by matching their sector, their geographic reach and potential future plans, to the specific assets and goals of a specific state. I also reach out to these companies to set up meetings with the leadership of these companies during or outside of these trade shows.

Region / Industry
Instead of or in addition to focusing on trade shows, I focus on a specific region and/or industry, to identify and connect with interesting players in key industries which a respective state would want to attract.