San Antonio's Innovation Council Pushes to Put City on Global Business Shortlist

San Antonio has long been known for its military installations, tourism, and hospitality, but business leaders say its advanced manufacturing, defense, cybersecurity, and biomedical innovation sectors remain largely invisible to international companies. Dr. Lina Rugova, Operations Chair and a founding member of the San Antonio Applied Innovation Council, is working to change that perception. In a recent episode of The Building Texas Show, The Hidden Giant: Why San Antonio Is The Best Kept Secret, Rugova told host Justin McKenzie that when speaking with international companies, "they never even heard of San Antonio. The first option is always going to be Dallas, Houston, and Austin."

The Applied Innovation Council, where Rugova serves as Operations Chair, connects industry, public infrastructure, capital, and higher education around four focus areas: industrial and advanced manufacturing, defense and cybersecurity, biomedical and health innovation, and applied technology and talent. Rugova, who is also founder and president of Emerge and Rise and co-lead of Founder Institute San Antonio, emphasizes that "talent is everything in San Antonio." That philosophy shaped Texas Venture Fest San Antonio, which she co-hosted on Oct. 1. The event was planned around arts and culture, media, tourism, hospitality, and innovation and technology, addressing what Rugova identified as a lack of creative marketing for the city and the need to retain local talent. "Instead of concentrating on challenges and issues all the time," she said, the goal is to focus on opportunities ahead.

Rugova also described collaboration with greater:SATX, the region's economic development organization, on an international soft-landing path that helps overseas companies settle in San Antonio, including through cultural integration. The program also gives local small businesses a way to partner with those companies on procurement and vendor opportunities. Rugova sees a strong fit for European and Asian companies, describing San Antonio as "a big city, small town mentality" that is more relationship-driven than transactional.

The talent pipeline is already in place, McKenzie noted, with students from the Rio Grande Valley attending UTSA, Trinity University, and the University of the Incarnate Word, while Alamo Colleges is "doing great stuff." He also pointed to UT Health Science Center, data science at UTSA, cybersecurity education, and access to wet labs. The challenge, he said, is giving graduates a reason to stay or to return to raise a family in a city known for its outdoors and rivers.

Rugova speaks from experience. An immigrant from Kazakhstan who arrived in the Bronx at 16, she holds a DBA, founded Emerge and Rise for underserved entrepreneurs, and teaches at Palo Alto College. She moved from New York City in November 2019 after considering Dallas, Austin, and Houston, and chose San Antonio as the better fit. Her advice for the city is to tell its own story. "We should never ever compare ourselves to other cities," she said. "We have our unique opportunity and uniqueness in our city that we should be showcasing." The full conversation is available on The Building Texas Show.