GTR LINK announces exit of CEO Joe Max Higgins Jr.
The Golden Triangle Development LINK announced the departure of longtime CEO Joe Max Higgins Jr. on Sunday afternoon.
Joe Max gone….
- Thread starter OG Goat Holder
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Cannot wait to hear the back story on this one. Joe Max has made so much happen in the golden triangle. I can’t imagine why a “new direction” would be needed given his successes.
That's a loss, at first glance. He has been enormously successful in improving the area.
If it was something that was undefeated or just personality conflict, hope someone in ms snags him. Be good for Jackson mss or the coast or south Memphis area to have him.
As someone else said above, maybe there was something that forced their hand to let him go. But if this was them letting JMH go over a disagreement or "performance", that's a massive mistake. He has singlehandedly reshaped the golden triangle's economic fortunes over the last two decades. He is an Arkansas guy, and so maybe he was wooed back home. But that statement reads like a dismissal, which is incredibly surprising. I'm not sure the average Mississippian realizes how much JMH did for that region
The head of the MDA says it appears to be a local HR matter.
I’ve heard this guy’s name thrown around a lot like he’s some type of golden god, but no real list of projects or improvements that he’s made. Not doubting his accomplishments, but am genuinely curious what he specifically has done vs. the organization as a whole, and what the big “wins” are.
Drive out to Golden Triangle Airport. Literally everything you see out there is because of his work.
Along with Yokohama in West point.
Pacar Engines, Airbus Helicoptor, Amazon Distribution in Starkville, Steel Dynamics, Aluminum Dynamics, Navistar Military Vehicles, Origis Energy Solar Panels and Batteries, etc etc etc
The way this situation is playing out (immediate and without warning), cannot be good
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I'd love to know that also. He's definitely good, but at the end of the day, there are lot of items on the check list for site selectors that an economic development head has limited influence on. Investment in infrastructure and probably just as importantly, workforce skills development, matters a ton but can take a decade to show results. I don't know if he was somewhat in the right place right time and was good enough to help the Golden Triangle take advantage of it, or if he really worked magic like people attribute to him.
Only one I have any knowledge of is that I was told Airbus basically was going to be in Mississippi because of Trent Lott and Thad Cochran, and the only competition was between Mississippi sites. And that wasn't direct knowledge, so that could have been somebody from Lott's or Cochran's office blowing smoke.
Someone called a special meeting on Sunday, and it is being reported it is HR related. Sounds like he messed up.
For what it’s worth, 60 Minutes did a segment on him years ago. Worth a watch. Definitely earned his keep with all that’s been accomplished in that area
I was half paying attention when this originally aired until I figured out the segment was about THAT Golden Triangle.
Joe Max singlehandedly changed the way economic development districts/collectives operate and are funded in the State of Mississippi. His ideas have been incorporated across the State of Mississippi from Tupelo to Hattiesburg to MadCo to Rankin to DeSoto to the Coast (and even 17n Vicksburg of all places). His fingerprints are all over a half dozen to a dozen EDAs across the state. If what appears to be happening is actually happening, it will be yet another example of "undefeated" continuing her winning streak.
I guess I had no idea he’d been in the region that long….around 22 years it seems. Planning for Steel Dynamics (originally SeverCorr) started way back in 2004-2005. Paccar planning started in 2006-2007, facility opened in 2010.
Airbus - I might call BS on that one. He may have carried that one across the finish line Greg Knox style, but that ball was rolling before he took over. He didn’t take over as LINK CEO until 2003, that was the same year that American Eurocopter press release came out about the Columbus facility (Eurocopter rebranded to Airbus in 2014). Knowing those deals take months if not years to negotiate before being finalized and announced, I’m hesitant to give him all the credit on that one.
But its an impressive list even without that one.
Also, a quick LinkedIn search shows that he’s already 64-65 years old, so I doubt he was going to be hanging around for too much longer regardless. If he’s as good of a leader as many suggest, he will have groomed at least one person who could be an adequate replacement in nearly a quarter century that he spent in that role.
David Rumbarger at the CDF in Tupelo has done a lot for that area as well and he's very highly regarded. I could see them going after him but he's got a good gig already there in Tupelo.
I understand your line of reasoning here, but I'm certain they would not be here without his efforts before, during, and after.
I was the project manager for Airbus and it was GTR all the way. If u people knew the defense contractors that have almost landed there in the 1990’s and early 2000’s before jmh you would be shocked and proud. I also lead the Nissan recruitment. Jmh is replaceable. Trust me.
I believe this guy^^^.
Mississippi does not have a jobs problem, it has a white collar jobs problem. You don't need another factory. You need a headquarters or 5. Blue collar is doing fine, its white collar jobs that need a boost in MS. Stop the brain drain and Mississippi will flourish within a generation. Let it continue and it will continue to flounder in the muck of stagnation.
All our homegrown companies jump at the chance to sell out or skip town.
Viking - sold out, gone to Illinois
Sanderson - sold out, gone to Jawja
Backyard Burger - gone to Cashville
Steinmart - gone to Flarrda
McRaes - sold out, gone to Norff Caralina
I think Steinmart and Backyard Burger are probably on their last leg anyway, so they may not matter.
We've had our chances. I don't see any real chance to getting a true HQ to relocated there. Better be happy with CSpire. Guess we've got some decent homegrown banks too. Don't know what's going on with Hancock and all the furniture in Tupelo.
I don't know much about them but when Hancock merged w/ Whitney in 2011 the HQ was moved to Lousy-ana.
*Strike the above statement, they are still in Gulfport.
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From todays Starkville Dispatch and an article where Lynn Spruill is asking the Link to reconsider his removal:
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Anon. I have heard this a few times over the past couple of days from other contacts in that area. My question without trying to be argumentative but more trying to understand the overall picture is that we almost had projects before he got there. When he did get there we started landing them. I work in the financial end of some things going on up there but do so from afar. Not close enough to know the day to day. Just to the somewhat untrained eye, it appears he is in the middle of the largest Mississippi business success story of our generation. Curious as to why he all of the sudden seems expendable. Could you elaborate or had you prefer to leave it at that and thanks in advance for your info
I haven't thought about BYB in 20 years. I had no idea they were on the verge of falling apart. Evidently, they filed for bankruptcy in 2023. They only have a handful of locations. Oddly enough, 2 around Memphis and one in Batesville.
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In the spirit of the upcoming hunting season, you can’t call women words that rhyme with hunt and trigger in JMH’s position.
Well if her name is Phyllis, and she’s been around since the 90’s in her role, my guess is she won’t be there much longer either. Pretty sure there isn’t a birth certificate with that name that’s been issued at any point after 1957.
