Speakers

Tony Copeland became North Carolina’s Secretary of Commerce in January, 2017, named to the post by Governor Roy Cooper and marking a return to the agency for the experienced business executive.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Copeland served as Assistant Commerce Secretary, leading the recruitment of nearly $12 billion in investment and the creation of 100,000 jobs. In this capacity, he worked with numerous international companies in China, Japan, Europe, South Korea and Israel, as well as a variety of domestic companies.

Tony Copeland’s experience spans a wide range of economic development and business leadership roles. During the past decade, as a partner of a major law firm and owner of his own firm, Mr. Copeland has brought significant new corporate investment into North Carolina from both domestic and international sources. He brings an insider’s knowledge of the ways corporate investment and site decisions are made.

Mr. Copeland also served as executive vice president, secretary and general counsel of a telecommunications company, where he led the company’s growth from $38 million in revenues to more than $250 million. He led the senior executive team that secured $500 million in equity financing and planned, financed and installed more than 5,000 miles of fiber optic cable in the Carolinas and along the eastern seaboard.

A native of Perquimans County, Mr. Copeland is a graduate of Duke University and the Western Michigan University School of Law.