CHEYENNE — Monday afternoon, business leaders met to discuss the future of Wyoming and how to merge areas such as artificial intelligence and data centers with traditional Wyoming values.
Gov. Mark Gordon was the keynote speaker, highlighting his administration’s economic agenda, “Economic Essentials: The Wyoming Way,” at Laramie County Community College.
Gordon participated in a panel alongside new University of Wyoming President Shane Reeves and Wyoming Business Alliance (WBA) CEO Renny MacKay. The event was moderated by Cheyenne LEADS CEO Betsey Hale, and also included a few audience questions.
Gordon’s administration has been championing the strengths of Wyoming, specifically its people, energy resources and its high-quality education, and how those pillars can be leveraged for economic prosperity for now and into the future.
The event was organized by Cheyenne LEADS, which serves as the economic development entity for the city of Cheyenne and Laramie County.
Hale spoke about why this event was important and what Cheyenne LEADS hopes to accomplish through the gathering of business leaders.
“I felt like we needed to get people in a room to hear about the good things that are going on and to think about the next 40 years,” she said.
Gordon discussed how education goes hand in hand with keeping pace as businesses evolve to suit whatever is coming next, such as artificial intelligence (AI). He wants Wyoming to take the lead in areas such as AI, stressing how “we have a chance to step out ahead of it.”
Both Gordon and UW’s Reeves focused on how this technology cannot be ignored, but must be integrated and used thoughtfully and responsibly. They described education as the first step of that process, emphasizing that those tools should not replace critical thinking.
Reeves emphasized how he believes UW’s commitment to enabling AI in the correct setting will “make graduates highly sought after in the near future.” Gordon echoed that sentiment and stressed the importance of striking the right balance between ensuring Wyoming’s next generation is well-versed in AI, and nurturing people’s curiosity.
Reeves touted the Wyoming Innovation Partnership, created at Gordon’s request, which brings UW together to collaborate with Wyoming’s eight community colleges. The program “ensures that our graduates are ready to join Wyoming’s workforce and contribute positively to the economy as job seekers and job creators,” he said.
Another topic addressed was how young, educated workers seem to be exported from Wyoming, and how the universities could potentially keep those graduates in Wyoming. In response, Reeves spoke about his philosophy of wanting UW to be a foundation for students and become an “incubator for entrepreneurs” who want to stay in Wyoming.
Reeves hopes to “have those grassroots, entrepreneurial ideas be watered and built up at the university,” he said.
The upcoming Aug. 18 primary election was also discussed, as WBA created a political action committee to recommend candidates described as “pro-business, pro-growth, pro-Wyoming and committed to prosperity.” MacKay spoke about the organization’s process of becoming politically involved: “Members came forward and said, we can’t afford not to get involved in politics.”
He explained the criteria used to determine the organization’s preferred candidates, specifically someone who is “committed to trying to move forward and understand businesses, and to have conversation with businesses.”
Overall, the event focused on how Wyoming business can continue to be successful into an ever-changing future. Jeff Pope, the board chair for Cheyenne LEADS, described the gathering as a first step toward that future: “We’re all in the same boat, and we need to be rowing in the same direction.”