Aug 12, 2026
Welcome to Chatter with BNC, Business North Carolina's weekly podcast, serving up interviews with some of the Tar Heel State's most interesting people.
On today's episode, Ben Kinney speaks with Kenny Flowers, Chief Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce. A North Carolina native with rural roots from Wadesboro in Anson County, Flowers shares his journey from UNC Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan through budget battles at the General Assembly to leading rural economic development across the state. He discusses the First in Opportunity strategic plan, record-breaking years for jobs and investment, closing the rural-urban divide through intentional investment, and building a world-class workforce. And yes, he's got the playlist to prove it — from B.B. King and the blues to Tupac and North Carolina's own J. Cole.