The Oklahoma Department of Commerce welcomes Geoffrey Camp as the new State Director of Aerospace & Defense. In his new role, Camp will lead Commerce’s Aerospace & Defense team as they work to strengthen the industry in Oklahoma by enhancing workforce efforts, providing assistance for business retention and expansion, and recruiting new companies in the state.
“Aerospace and defense is our fastest growing industry. Since 2015, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce has assisted with business announcements from aerospace companies totaling more than 7,000 new jobs and more than $700,000,000 in planned capital investment,” said Charles Kimbrough, Director, Business Development. “I am confident Geoff will be able to lead this team and continue the momentum behind Oklahoma’s aerospace and defense industry as we work to grow existing Oklahoma companies and bring new aerospace and defense operations to the state.”
Camp has nearly 30 years of aerospace experience. His career started as an E-3 AWACS Jet Engine Mechanic at Tinker Air Force Base. He is a graduate of the Oklahoma State University Aviation Program where he received a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Science with an emphasis in Technical Services and Management. Most recently, Camp served as Senior Executive – Business Development for Vertical Aerospace, an Oklahoma aerospace company in Bristow.
“The Commerce Aerospace & Defense team is well regarded in Oklahoma’s aerospace and defense industry and I am excited for the opportunity to work alongside the rest of the team as we further strengthen the industry and address issues facing our state’s aerospace and defense companies,” said Camp.
Goals for the Commerce Aerospace & Defense team for 2020 include:
- Establish “Strategic Working Groups” of aerospace experts in the areas of workforce development, advanced/emerging tech and propulsion sustainment to create measurable deliverables for progress;
- Host additional Oklahoma aerospace career fairs/hiring events – the first two of which were held in Tulsa and Midwest City in January 2020.
- Populate the online Oklahoma Aerospace Asset Map with more than 400 aerospace-related entities and build on the features and capabilities of the map to make it more powerful.
- Achieve 15 aerospace project “wins” (expansions or attractions of aerospace companies leading to an increase in jobs or investment).
