MCEDC outlines FY26 attraction, retention and marketing plan; committee presses for metrics and inclusion

MCEDC staff presented an interim FY26 work plan to the Montgomery County Economic Development Committee, describing coordinated efforts on business attraction, business retention and marketing and answering members’ questions about metrics, inclusion and follow-up processes.

Priyas Nivani, a director of economic development, said MCEDC has prioritized site-selector engagement and has received about 11 requests for information (RFIs) over the past two years; five RFIs remain active, one project has been won and several remain paused because of global economic conditions. “Out of that, 5 of the projects we’re still actively working on, 1 project, we actually have won,” Nivani said.

Staff described trade-show outreach including SelectUSA, where they met 39 companies and said four of those companies expressed interest in the county. Priyas also offered a relocation example: a German defense company signed a 2,500-square-foot lease in Montgomery County and is hiring sales staff after incentives including the county’s move grant.

On retention, Laurie Babb highlighted a recent high-profile retention: X Energy, which received a major outside investment, has chosen to remain in Montgomery County, move its headquarters from Rockville to Gaithersburg, expand its facility and add about 500 jobs over the next five years. “Xenergy has said that they’re gonna stay here in Montgomery County,” Babb said.

On marketing, Manuelizio Hashmi said MCEDC is shifting to event-driven outreach, producing content from a recent fam tour (video testimonials, site-specific promotions) and plans to run campaigns that emphasize both business clusters and quality-of-life storytelling; staff said they plan about 48 events in FY26 and have an event budget of $315,000.

Committee members pressed for measurable outcomes. MCEDC said it built a new lead-generation process this year to track meetings-to-project conversion, that an eight-person team supports attraction and retention work, and that follow-up cadence varies by urgency—monthly for near-term projects, quarterly for multi-year prospects.

On inclusion, committee members asked how MCEDC engages small, minority- and woman-owned businesses. MCEDC reported engaging about 314 unique businesses during the first quarter and said 133 of those were minority-, veteran- or woman-owned. Staff described partnerships with the Hispanic and Black chambers, sponsorship of training programs and management of the ACE Loan Fund (a state video lottery terminal fund) with the Latino Economic Development Council as fiduciary partner. “We do actively engage with them,” Babb said.

Staff said they publish an annual report and highlight company wins in newsletters and limited social posts; more detailed quarterly metrics are included in a quarterly economic indicators briefing presented with the Department of Planning. Staff also credited improvements at the Department of Permitting Services under director Ravi Sabakan for smoother permitting interactions on company cases.

Committee members asked MCEDC to continue reporting outcomes against its work plan and to prioritize targeted outreach to minority- and woman-owned businesses as part of economic-inclusion goals. MCEDC said a permanent CEO will further shape the strategic plan, expected by the committee in July 2026.

Note on figures: staff supplied counts during the meeting (e.g., RFIs, meetings, event budget, Q1 engagement totals) from MCEDC reporting; in several cases staff gave rounded or verbal figures at the mic (for example "about 11 RFIs" and "about 314 unique businesses"). Those figures are reported here as stated by MCEDC staff.