Ryan Starks is the Managing Director of Growth and Innovation in the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity—an appointment he has held since 2019. In this role, Ryan oversees business expansion programs and partnerships, rural economic development, international trade and diplomacy, and Utah’s targeted industries initiative. In 2021, Ryan was nominated to serve as an honorary commander of the 419 fighter wing at Utah’s Hill Air Force Base.
During Ryan’s career, he has worked for the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington, DC, as the director of economic development for Wasatch County, Utah, and as an adjunct professor of management in the BYU Marriott School of Business.
Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from BYU. Ryan also earned a certificate in economic development from the University of Oklahoma and completed the entrepreneurship and innovation program at Harvard University.
Ryan and his wife Amy are the parents of three sons and one daughter.
