BIOGRAPHY
Kevin Younis is Chief Operating Officer and Executive Deputy Commissioner at Empire State Development (ESD), New York’s economic development agency. In this role, he provides leadership and oversight for critical ESD operational and programmatic functions. He is extensively involved in promoting the state’s long-term economic development objectives, with a focus on business development involving corporate retention, expansion, and relocation, while working ensure the State’s economic development efforts benefit all New Yorkers.
Kevin has 27 years of experience in the public sector, focused primarily on economic development policy and operations, and has been with ESD since 2007. For more than seven years, Kevin has led the State’s efforts to strengthen and grow the semiconductor industry in New York State. He was instrumental in the creation and passage of New York’s Green CHIPS Act, the state’s semiconductor industry-focused pay-for-performance incentive program, and in the creation of GO-SEMI, New York’s centralized office formed to develop and advance policies to attract the semiconductor industry, including their supply chain and skilled workers. In 2023, Kevin was named “Economic Developer of the Year” by the New York State Economic Development Council for his leadership in bringing Micron Technology to Central New York.
Prior to his work in government, Kevin taught English in Taiwan and worked with a youth public service program in Syracuse. He holds a certificate from Harvard University, an MPA from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy and earned his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Cortland.
A native of Syracuse and lifelong New Yorker, Kevin lives in Albany with his wife Erin and daughter Eleanor.