Chatham County has been the epicenter of economic development in North Carolina in 2022. Aside from the explosive growth occurring related to Chatham Park, the 7,000-acre planned community that will add 22,000 homes, Chatham was chosen by Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast as the site for its American plant — a $4 billion project that’s expected to bring 7,500 jobs here. And that doesn't take into consideration activity brewing at the Chatham Advanced Manufacturing site in Siler City.

This week on the Chatcast, we’re talking with Michael Smith, president of the Chatham County EDC, about VinFast, about other projects, and about the impact they’ll collectively have on central North Carolina.

Michael Smith has more than 20 years of experience serving in economic development roles in local organizations and with the N.C. Department of Commerce. He came to Chatham a little over a year ago from Lee County, where he had a hand in project after project announced there over the last few years and of course has been the face of Chatham’s ED efforts.