North Carolina keeps landing at the top of the "best state for business" lists. In the first episode of the Imagine Winston-Salem podcast, NC Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley joins Mark Owens, President and CEO of Greater Winston-Salem Inc., to explain what's behind the rankings and what Winston-Salem and Forsyth County can do to be ready for the next big project. Secretary Lilley traces his path from a farm family in Williamston, NC to six years on Capitol Hill, then to Governor Cooper's office in 2018 and the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office, where he helped direct roughly $12 billion in federal recovery dollars toward business grants, water and wastewater, broadband, and workforce training.

Now serving as Governor Josh Stein's Commerce Secretary, he makes the case that talent is the question behind every recruitment conversation, walks through how North Carolina is positioning itself for the AI economy, and unpacks the state's new First in Opportunity plan, which for the first time treats community livability as a formal pillar of economic development alongside innovation, workforce, and infrastructure.

Also in this conversation: the Southeast US-Japan conference, the German national team's World Cup base camp in Winston-Salem, and what Secretary Lilley hopes people are saying about North Carolina in 2035.

Recorded ahead of the 2026 State of the Economy, presented by Allegacy Financial, at the Benton Convention Center.

Chapters

0:00 Welcome to Imagine Winston-Salem

0:57 Growing up in eastern North Carolina

3:54 Capitol Hill, private practice, and the call from Governor Cooper

6:52 Leading the NC Pandemic Recovery Office

9:40 Why North Carolina keeps winning "best state for business"

14:10 Getting ready for the AI economy

17:44 The innovation advantage: R1 universities and NIH funding

21:09 Livability and the German national team's visit

22:19 The First in Opportunity plan

23:10 Housing, child care, and health care as economic development

26:54 North Carolina in 2035

Learn more Greater Winston-Salem Inc.: https://www.winstonsalem.com NC Department of Commerce: https://www.commerce.nc.gov First in Opportunity plan: https://commerce.nc.gov/StrategicPlan Follow Greater Winston-Salem Inc. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greater-winston-salem-inc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greaterwinstonsaleminc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greaterwinstonsaleminc/