With local officials out of town, Ron DeSantis heralds Jax business expansion

FinTech was the subject in Jacksonville.

Fidelity Information Services, a cornerstone of Jacksonville’s economy, rolled out an expansion Friday. Gov. Ron DeSantis was on hand to celebrate.

The Jacksonville Daily Record was first to report on “Project Sharp,” which will see 500 new jobs and a $145 million headquarters for the fintech giant.

Nearly $30 million of state and local incentives are in play for the politically connected company.

DeSantis said FIS was a “really, really, really important part of the economy in Northeast Florida,” and the expansion and new facility was a “really neat announcement.”

The Governor, whose commitment to fintech is well-documented, mentioned that in 2020, his administration will step up efforts to recruit companies from the financial technology sector.

“We are trying to grow and recruit financial technology companies in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.

One reform being pushed in the Legislature in the coming months: “the regulatory sandbox … an apparatus that will assist in the growth of those technologies rather than smother the growth of those technologies.”

Per the Governor, “with technology, you’re seeing new things come online all the time,” and often regulations from bygone eras are poor fits for the sector.

Education is also key, DeSantis said, with “fintech academies” proposed to “offer training in these specific fields.”

State colleges and the private sector could, DeSantis said, collaborate on these, offering “opportunity for people in Florida.”

Talent development will allow a “pool of talent” to compete for jobs in companies in this sector, DeSantis noted.

FIS CEO Gary Norcross lauded state and local officials for recruitment, singling out Mayor Curry and Chief of Staff Brian Hughes from the city of Jacksonville for their work.

Conspicuous by their absence in that context: Mayor Curry and much of Jacksonville’s business and political elite.

With the Jaguars in London this week, Jacksonville leaders were on their annual trip “across the pond,” raising questions as to the timing of this particular announcement.

Chief of Staff Brian Hughes, who had been a consultant to then-Congressional candidate DeSantis years back, represented the city, along with a smattering of City Council members.

However, neither Hughes nor any city offical spoke Friday, even as DEO head Ken Lawson and Enterprise Florida chief Jamal Sowell offered remarks.