Expert Profile

Dr. Gerald L. Gordon

President and Chief Executive Officer
Fairfax County (Virginia) Economic Development Authority

Dr. Gordon is an expert on economic growth and development, job creation, and business attraction and retention. He speaks from experience about business opportunities created by the explosive growth in government contracts, as a former advisor to the U.S. Navy and the United Nations. As an author of eight books on economic development, strategic planning and management, he’ll answer questions about jobs and business opportunities related to the nation’s economy, particularly government contracting, that will continue to grow in the next few years.

Dr. Gordon has been instrumental in attracting many companies to Fairfax County, which has 4,900 technology companies and offers proximity to the federal government for companies looking to secure government contracts and funding. In fiscal 2005, Fairfax County companies won $11.6 billion in federal contracts, a higher level of procurement activity than neighboring jurisdictions in the Washington metropolitan area.

Dr. Gordon has been with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) since 1983. In that time, office space in the county grew from 35 million square feet to more than 105 million square feet, and jobs in the county grew from 243,000 to more than 600,000. The real estate tax rate has decreased from $1.47 to 89 cents. In 2005, the FCEDA was named by Site Selection Magazine as one of the Top Ten Economic Development organizations in North America. In 2007 a U.S. Department of Labor study called Fairfax County the private-sector jobs leader of the Washington area. Reporting on that study, Time magazine called Fairfax County “one of the great economic success stories of our time.”

Dr. Gordon is available to speak on a variety of topics regarding the economy, job growth, business attraction and retention, government contracting, economic development and local development issues.

About Fairfax County, Virginia

Fairfax County, minutes from Washington, D.C., is a prime business location and the heart of the northern Virginia and Washington area technology community. Our dynamic companies, well-educated and highly skilled residents, excellent school system and cultural amenities make Fairfax County one of the most desirable places to live and work in the United States.

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority promotes Fairfax County as a business and technology center. The FCEDA assists businesses by identifying possible sites and facilities, and provides demographic and economic statistics. The FCEDA’s Capital Attraction Program links technology entrepreneurs with potential investors, and another program supports the growth of small and minority-owned companies. The FCEDA maintains offices worldwide in Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Frankfurt, London, Seoul and Tel Aviv.

Media contact:
Alan Fogg
703-790-0600 or 571-213-5065
afogg@fceda.org