In Arizona our economy once relied on the “five C’s” of commerce – cattle, cotton, citrus, copper and climate. That  wasn’t enough to thrive into the 21st century. Neither was the once-booming construction and real estate industry.

Fortunately our business and community leaders had a vision to “diversify the desert,” as Joe Snell puts it. He’s the founding president and CEO of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities.

Economic development – business attraction, retention, expansion and creation – is the central mission of TREO. Today TREO remains “laser focused” on growing four key industry sectors – aerospace & defense, bioscience, solar and transportation/logistics.

These key sectors are already attracting national attention in Time, Forbes, Business Facilities and other publications. Read how these industries are growing in this BizTucson Special Report.

Prior to 2007 Arizona was consistently ranked in the top five states for growth in jobs, population and income - before plummeting nearly to the bottom of the nation in all three categories. There has been