Bobby Hitt
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Robert "Bobby" M. Hitt III is a government and business leader in the State of
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. A native of
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, he was appointed the state's Secretary of Commerce in January 2011. Hitt began his career as a journalist, following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather. Over nearly two decades, he built a reputation as a dogged journalist for two of South Carolina's most respected newspapers. Prior to leading the state's economic development agency, Hitt served as an executive at the
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
plant in
Spartanburg County, South Carolina Spartanburg County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 327,997, making it the fifth-most populous county in South Carolina. Its county seat is Spartan ...
.


Personal life


Family

Hitt was born on December 27, 1949, to Ann Leonard Hitt and Robert M. "Red" Hitt, Jr. of Charleston. His youngest brother is the author and journalist
Jack Hitt Jack Hitt is an American author. He has been a contributing editor to ''Harper's'', ''The New York Times Magazine'', ''This American Life'', and the now-defunct magazine ''Lingua Franca''. His work has appeared in such publications as '' Outsid ...
. A third-generation newspaper man, Hitt's father served as the editor of The Charleston Evening Post, which later merged with the Charleston News and Courier to form ''
The Post and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...
''. And, his grandfather, Robert Hitt, Sr. was editor of The Bamberg Herald. Today, Hitt is married to Gwen, and they have two sons, Lucas and Robert Paul.


Education

Hitt graduated from the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
with a
B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in Journalism in 1973. In 1987, as a recipient of the Neiman Fellowship for Journalists, Hitt studied for a year at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, focusing on the impact of social, political and economic change on the South.


Career


Journalism

Hitt worked for 17 years at ''The State'' and the '' Columbia Record''. He served as managing editor of the ''Columbia Record'' from 1980 to 1987 and served in the same role for ''The State'' from 1988 to 1991.


Industry

In 1991, Hitt left journalism to join Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP as the director of planning and development. In that role, he assisted in the effort to recruit
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
to the State of
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. On June 22, 1992,
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
announced that it had selected
Spartanburg County Spartanburg County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 327,997, making it the fifth-most populous county in South Carolina. Its county seat is Spartanbu ...
, S.C. for the site of its first North American manufacturing plant. Subsequently, the German automaker hired Hitt to manage public affairs for the plant. He served as manager of corporate affairs for
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
until 2010.


Secretary of Commerce

In January 2011, South Carolina Governor
Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...
appointed Hitt state Secretary of Commerce. Throughout his tenure, the S.C. Department of Commerce has recruited approximately $30 billion in capital investment and 105,000 new jobs. Additionally, the state has secured significant investments from international brands, including
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
,
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
,
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...
,
Continental AG Continental AG, commonly known as Continental and colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company. Headquartered in Hanover, Lower Saxony, it is the world's third- largest automotive supplier and the fo ...
,
Giti Tire Giti Tire is a Singapore headquartered Indonesian tire company, with eight manufacturing facilities, more than 32,000 global employees, and distribution to a market of more than 130 countries. Giti was ranked as the number ten tire manufacturi ...
,
LPL Financial LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (commonly referred to as LPL Financial) was founded in 1989 and is considered the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States. As of 2021 the company had more than 17,500 financial advisors, over US$1 trill ...
Holdings,
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
Vans,
Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
,
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
,
Toray is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that specializes in industrial products centered on technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry. Its founding business areas were fibers and textiles, ...
and
Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...
Cars. Additionally, the state of
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
has achieved an export sales record in each year of Hitt's tenure. In 2016, the state exported more than $31 billion in products for the first time, leading the nation in the export sales of completed passenger vehicles and tires.


Honors

Throughout his career, Hitt has received several awards and accolades, including: * Order of the Palmetto, the State of South Carolina's highest civilian honor * Distinguished Journalism Alumni of the Year Award in 2006 from the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
* Third Annual Welling Collaboration Award from Ten at the Top * Roger Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award from the South Carolina Manufacturers' Alliance * Spirit of the Upstate Award from the Upstate S.C. Alliance * Public Servant of the Year from the Columbia Chamber of Commerce * Distinguished German American of the Year from the German-American Heritage Foundation


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitt, Bobby 1949 births State cabinet secretaries of South Carolina Living people University of South Carolina alumni Nieman Fellows Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Harvard Fellows