Bill Johnson won’t identify his “genius”

The head of the state’s economic development agency told lawmakers Wednesday he was on the cusp of a big deal with a certain “genius.”

Bill Johnson, who leads Enterprise Florida, said he’s talking to a technology guru who lives in London, but also has a house in Florida, about doing a big project here.

He didn’t name names, but at first blush the description sounded like Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

Wales, who now lives in London, first ran Wikipedia out of a St. Petersburg office building. He has a teenage daughter who still lives in Florida.

“I don’t confirm or deny anything in that regard,” Johnson said after a meeting of the Senate Commerce and Tourism committee. “But I’ll tell you, the guy flew in, we spent three and a half hours together. I had a Scotch; he had a water.”

When asked what they talked about, Johnson answered: “How great the state of Florida is.”