What Hitt means for Haley

By Charles Sowell  

DECEMBER 9, 2010 12:28 p.m. (0)

Robert M. “Bobby” Hitt III’s appointment as Gov.-elect Nikki Haley’s chief at the Department of Commerce bodes well for the state’s economic future, officials with the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance said this week.

Hitt has been BMW’s go-to guy for nearly 20 years in incentive negotiations with the state and has dealt with South Carolina’s last five commerce secretaries. Observers say he has played a key role in one of the state’s biggest business successes.

He is 60 and a 1973 graduate of the University of South Carolina’s College of Journalism. He and wife Gwen have two sons ages 31 and 19 and live in Simpsonville.

The incoming commerce chief did graduate work at the University of South Carolina’s College of Business Administration and was fellow with the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University from 1987 until 1988.

He replaces outgoing Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor, who has announced he will step down at the end of Gov. Mark Sanford’s term.

Taylor earns $144,746. Hitt’s salary will be determined by a state panel after the Senate confirms his appointment in January, state officials have said.

Hitt reportedly does not plan wholesale changes at the Commerce Department, but will assess the agency when he starts on the job first thing next year.  He did not return the Journal’s call for an interview.

Before graduating USC in 1973, Hitt worked as a reporter and copy editor for The State. He was in advertising sales and copywriting prior to attending college.

Hitt put in a stint at The Columbia Record rising to managing editor. He was also managing editor of The State for a period.

He taught Journalism at USC from 1981 until 1992 when he went to work as planning director for Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough in 1992.

From there went to work for BMW in 1993.

Hitt wears two hats as chairman of the manufacturer’s alliance and as the chief spokesman for BMW.

“We expect good things from Bobby and from Haley,” said Lewis Gossett, SCMA president. “Bobby is the only person to serve for two terms as chairman of the SCMA board and great things have come under his leadership.”

Gossett said Haley has started putting a face on a campaign commitment to improve the state’s business climate and lower the unemployment rate.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the manufacturing sector take off in the coming year,” Gossett said. “Talking to our members we already see hiring on the upswing and we’re starting to hear noises about concerns with having enough qualified workers. That’s the kind of worries we want to have.”

“He is exactly what I was looking for,” Haley said of Hitt when she made the announcement.

Hitt and Haley met during her campaign, Gossett said.

“It was sort of serendipitous,” he said. “Almost like having two people in the same room thinking about the same kinds of things at the same time.”