About

Gray Swoope is President and CEO of VisionFirst Advisors, a nationally recognized economic development and site-selection consulting firm he founded in 2015. Building on a distinguished 30-year public-sector career, Gray launched VisionFirst to bring real-world, execution-driven insight to complex location and investment decisions.

Under Gray’s leadership, VisionFirst Advisors has worked with clients in all 50 states, representing 29 Fortune 500 companies, supporting foreign direct investment, including a major Korean investment, and advising on projects totaling more than $100 billion in announced capital investment with over 16,000 jobs. The firm is known for its practical, data-driven approach and deep understanding of project drivers across diverse industries and geographies.

Prior to founding VisionFirst, Gray served as Florida’s Secretary of Commerce and President and CEO of Enterprise Florida, and previously as Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, where he led major global recruitment efforts and played a key leadership role in post-Hurricane Katrina recovery.

Gray holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Mississippi State University.