Guillermo Mazier
President, Americas
Wavteq
Phoenix, AZ

How long have you worked in economic development?

I learned about economic development when I was 19 from one of the top economic development leaders in the world, Barry Broome. By 22 I took my first economic development assignment with the US Peace Corps and the Department of Commerce in the Limon province of Costa Rica in a community called Tortuguero, and I was hooked. But I'll be honest. As long as I can remember, I've had a passion for communities or locations (the places where people work, visit, and live) and the people that make those places special. I was the nerd with a postcard collection, hoarding cards from places I had never even visited or heard about before. Over the years I've become increasingly obsessed with answering 3 questions:

How do people and companies shape communities? 

How can you improve organizational economic development performance?

What are the underlying conditions and tools that can help locations and the people that live in them prosper?

These questions are the ones that keep me up at night and drive everything that I do, from my investment attraction work at Wavteq, where I work with our global teams to create strategies, deploy business intelligence software products, and rethink traditional approaches to investment promotion to the to my community innovation work where I look to apply and teach design thinking to help public and private sector stakeholders solve problems together.

What is your favorite thing about working in economic development?

I love the sense of purpose and fulfillment that comes with knowing that my work makes a real difference in people's lives. I'm constantly learning and adapting to new challenges, which keeps things interesting and exciting. Overall, I would say that my favorite thing about working in economic development is the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to my community and the world.

Tell us about the community or organization you represent.

I like to say im kind of like the united nations. I represent hundreds of communities. From Paris, France to Parkland County, Canada, and Queensland Australia to Doha, Qatar I've had the chance to help thousands of municipal and private sector leaders evaluate locations, build and implement economic development growth strategies and tell better stories to enable corporate and community growth.

Unlike traditional consulting firms, my firm Wavteq exclusively focuses on sustainably attracting + retaining business for economic development. With offices in 18 countries and over 80 employees, we've built the most comprehensive set of services and digital tools that help economic development organizations build capacity and enable economic development growth.

What makes your community a great place for business and people to thrive? If you don’t represent a community, how do you help economic development organizations succeed?

Through cutting-edge knowledge and uniquely integrated skillsets, our Wavteq specializes in the development and implementation of data-driven and evidence-based trade and investment attraction strategies for economic development and investment promotion organizations around the world. Our online education and investment attraction products, consulting, and lead generation programs enable our clients at all levels (national, state, and local) to solve the toughest economic development and investment promotion challenges and improve performance.

Tell us about your favorite place/thing to do in your community.

Im a Phoenix Arizona native and after a 16-year stint in Denver I moved back home. My favorite thing to do in Phoenix when im traveling the world speaking, training, or consulting is going on hikes with my four kids and wife who help balance my life with equal parts of messiness and meaning.  Here are a few of my favorite spots in and around Phoenix:

Camelback Mountain

Piestewa Peak

South Mountain Park and Preserve

Papago Park

McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Lost Dutchman State Park

Usery Mountain Regional Park

Thunderbird Conservation Park

White Tank Mountain Regional Park

I Love that most of the hikes are really accessible from Central Phoenix, can range in difficulty from easy to freaking hard, and have some of the most incredible views and landscapes that I've ever seen.

If you had a message to those considering a career in economic development, what would it be and why should they enter the field?

If you have a passion for places, making a difference in the world, and are interested in economics, public policy, and community development, then a career in economic development could be a great fit for you. The task of solving your communities problems will be hard. It may require tough conversations, navigating complex economic, social, and political systems, or deploying strong analytical, interpersonal, and leadership skills but you'll get the chance to take on real community challenges and game-changing projects that will make a real difference for the people who live and work in your community. If you have the right mindset, I promise that experience will be worth its weight in gold.

Share your favorite quote or the best piece of advice that has helped to guide your professional development.

Explore what’s possible instead of defaulting to what is not. It's hard to take a break in our insanely busy lives and culture. As a result, we tighten our grip on the things that we know and repeat our routines with little ambition to try something new. In doing so, we end up blocking the ideas and opportunities that are very much within our reach.