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Director Rippe, Governor Ricketts, Tim O’Brien with the Omaha Public Power District, and James Caraway with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce at Facebook Headquarters in California.

Last week, Governor Pete Ricketts traveled to Silicon Valley and met with Facebook, LinkedIn, and i2c to thank them for their investments and commitments to Nebraska.  During his visit, Governor Ricketts highlighted the strengths of doing business in Nebraska and the growing Silicon Prairie.  Governor Ricketts was joined on the trip by Department of Economic Development Director (DED) Dave Rippe as well as James Caraway, Business Development Manager for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and Tim O’Brien, Economic Development Manager for the Omaha Public Power District.

“Thanks to investment from companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, and i2c, the Silicon Prairie has created many great job opportunities for Nebraskans,” said Governor Ricketts.  “Through our strong partnership and collaboration with state and local economic developers, public power, and the Governor’s Office, we’ve been able to attract internationally-known brands to Nebraska.  We will continue to work together to grow opportunities in the tech and data management fields in Nebraska.”

During a briefing at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, company officials informed the Governor they have already hired more than 40 full-time employees, and construction contractors have logged more than 1,000,000 hours on-site to date.

LinkedIn, whose mission is to create opportunities for every member of the global workforce, reported that they have nearly 400 employees in Omaha, and that they have found Nebraska to be a great place to grow their business.

i2c, who announced in March that they would be bringing 300 new jobs to Omaha, has started to hire their Nebraska management team and will look to ramp up hiring soon.

“We went to California to say thank you to our customers, and what we heard in return was a consistent message – that Nebraska is a great place to do business and that the true differentiator is our people,” said DED Director Dave Rippe.  “Nebraskans are hardworking, reliable, and innovative.  Our public power providers and our communities have helped to position us to be a state of choice for employers seeking reliable, low cost, and in many cases renewable energy and a workforce that is second to none.”