On Aire Ep. 13 w/ Tim Cowden Transcript

[Intro – Host: Team Jensen]

Host: hello hello listeners welcome to episode 13 of on air with Team Jensen today we have on Tim Cowden with us the president and CEO of kcadc thanks for coming on with us today Tim.

Tim: glad to be here with Team Jensen.

Host: i think Chris Gutierrez gave a little bit of an overview but if you could kind of explain what kcadc is and kind of what your role is here in Kansas City?

[The Mission of KCADC]

Tim: the Kansas City area Development Council at KCADC has been around now for about 50 years… we are the sales marketing and branding organization for big Kansas City… so that’s both Kansas and Missouri 18 counties plus.

Tim: our job is to take this really competitive market into a more competitive marketplace and put the best spin possible on Kansas City as our region for companies and talent to relocate or expand to.

Dan: kcadc has always been very good… you guys have you know the importance of our world and how we need to be involved in conversations and in driving of the deals.

[Tim Cowden’s Background]

Tim: i have been with KCADC for 25 plus years… i came to Kansas City from Salt Lake where i work for a group called the Economic Development Corporation in Utah.

Tim: my dad’s a small businessman… he had several gasoline convenience stores across the Oklahoma City area so i grew up in that from the time that i was able to push a broom.

[Stacking Dubs: Kansas City’s Buzz]

Tim: it’s about stacking dubs [wins]… we are stacking dubs in the Kansas City region right now.

Tim: from meeting to meeting over the course of about 48 hours in New York all we heard was this about this buzz that’s happening in Kansas City and i think it really starts with what’s occurring out of the airport… that first and last impression that visitors get.

Tim: we’re asked about international service i believe in time we’ll see some direct transatlantic service from Kansas City.

[Major Economic Drivers: Panasonic and EV]

Tim: you look at just on the private side what Panasonic is bringing… that whole EV supply chain sector that will continue.

Tim: 100 years ago thereabouts when Ford made the decision to put their first plant outside of Detroit where was it? It’s in Kansas City… Panasonic easily could have gone to Tulsa easily could have gone to Fort Worth but we made it happen here.

Tim: orange EV is a local group that has invested and i think they recently announced their 400,000 foot facility… it’s awesome to see that a local company… Panasonic investment gives them more reassurance.

[Transformative Projects: Stadiums and World Cup]

Tim: there’s a lot of excitement around the Royals and the idea of a downtown stadium… he is ultimately the customer and in this process he has been very open and transparent… they needed to move downtown to be closer to their customer base.

Tim: the biggest event in the history of the world is going to be held here… Kansas City is going to receive six matches that includes a quarterfinal and a knockout… the world coming here in 2026 it’s just going to open up even more opportunity.

[Emerging Sectors: Digital Health and Office]

Tim: digital health and health tech is a really big opportunity for our region… Cerner being acquired by Oracle and you got others that are coming… heart incorporated in the digital health space moving here from Irvine California.

Tim: the airport terminal really works in our favor as a reason to come to Kansas City and move your headquarters… there were 11.2 million people that flew through KCI last year most ever.

[Wrap-Up]

Host: what’s the best way if someone listening is wanting to learn more about KCADC?

Tim: it’s just thinkKC.com… reach out to me you can get me on LinkedIn.

Tim: thanks for being in Kansas City.

Host: thank you.