Murphy retrospective, Part IV: Selling New Jersey to the world

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The fireside chat at the Financial Times Future of AI Summit in London was more than just a welcome for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. It was a chance for him to explain to the crowd of business leaders, experts and entrepreneurs why New Jersey was in a better position than Silicon Valley to become the AI capital of the U.S.

It was Murphy at his best.

The governor detailed the state’s proximity to New York City and the connection to the investors found there.

He bragged about the state’s educated workforce and stellar educational institutions, including Princeton, the institution that is the equal of Cambridge and Oxford.

He emphasized the state’s cultural values — how they were in line with those in the United Kingdom and perhaps different from those found elsewhere in the United States.

It was a sales speech Murphy had given dozens of times in more than a dozen countries during economic missions sponsored by Choose New Jersey — this one coming a little more than a year ago.

It was meant to reset the narrative.

“We call ourselves the world’s state,” Murphy said.

Choose New Jersey was started by Gov. Chris Christie as a way for the state to pitch its potential to companies across the country. Murphy took the economic development entity to another level under the direction of CEOs Jose Lozano and Wes Mathews.

Based on his time as a diplomat in Europe and a banker in Asia, Murphy said he knew New Jersey had all the attributes global companies were searching for when they looked to the U.S. market. The state just needed to sell itself better. And there’s no better way to do that than to take your show on the road.

In his eight years in office — including essentially two that were lost to the pandemic — Murphy traveled with Choose New Jersey on five economic missions to sell the state, making stops in the U.K, Ireland, Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Canada and Mexico.

(This writer traveled with the governor on three trips covering five of those destinations.)

To be clear, Choose New Jersey is not a government agency. Corporations in the state support the organizations through membership — it is those dollars that paid for these international trips.

The state just benefits from them.

At least that’s the way Murphy sees it. He detailed his thoughts in an interview with BINJE aimed to wrap up his years in office.

“We sell really well globally,” he said. “Not every state does. In fact, most states don’t, but for a lot of different reasons, we do, and we’ve borne an enormous amount of fruit out of those missions.”

Some of that success can be seen tangibly.

Choose New Jersey opened six international business attraction offices following those missions — in New Delhi and Bangaluru, India; Berlin, Germany; Tel Aviv, Israel; Dublin, Ireland; and Taipei, Taiwan — giving New Jersey a daily presence that few other states can match.

Choose New Jersey estimates these offices, combined with the trips, have helped the state bring more than 3,000 new jobs to New Jersey.

Consider India, a nation the governor and Lt. Gov. Tahisha Way visited on separate occasions. The fact three India-based life sciences companies (Biocon Genetics, Aurobindo Pharma and Enzene Biosciences) held ribbon-cutting ceremonies in September on properties in New Jersey is not a coincidence.

The economic missions, however, are not just about one-and-done transactional moments with large corporations. They are about building relationships through the ecosystem of a nation. It’s why the economic missions not only were filled with meetings with government officials and big companies, but organizations representing startups, health care, higher education and STEM.

New Jersey officials signed 81 memorandums of understanding during the missions, too.

Administration officials say these MOUs were more than ceremonial signings — they marked the start of relationships that may pay off long after Murphy has left office. Murphy said as much in an airport in Japan, preparing for a long trip home after 10 days of selling in Asia.

“That’s the nature of this business — planting seeds,” he said then. “I would hope that, down the road, there would be an understanding that we did the responsible thing: We passed the baton, we sprinted through the tape, we did right by New Jersey, whether or not I was in office or not.”

The trips, done in partnership with the N.J. Economic Development Authority, certainly are about business. That starts with changing the narrative about New Jersey. Telling your own story, rather than having someone else do it.

There’s no better way to do that than with a face-to-face meeting. And judging from the conversations I had on those economic missions, the conversations start in different spots.

In Asia, many couldn’t distinguish the difference between New Jersey and New York.

In the United Kingdom — a trip taken just days after the 2024 presidential election — many Londoners could analyze the results as well as any American commentator.

In Canada, everyone knew about the Jersey Shore. At least, the show.

The incoming administration of Gov-elect Mikie Sherrill has indicated an understanding of the value Choose New Jersey brings. Whether she will travel the globe extensively, as the state’s top salesperson, remains to be seen.

Critics — often missing the fact the economic missions are not paid for by state funds — will say they don’t produce results to justify the time spent.

That’s debatable.

This isn’t: The trips help redefine how New Jersey is viewed around the globe — help redefine the image of the state.

Minutes after Murphy left the stage at the Financial Times event, seemingly having won over some of the crowd on the merits of New Jersey, one attendee offered up the only factoid about the state he knew before the governor’s visit.

“Isn’t that the place where you can’t pump your own gas?” he said.