Investigate South Carolina’s largest economic development deals of the past 20 years, and chances are Stephanie Yarbrough played a role in making them happen. One of the biggest assets she brings to clients is her familiarity with local and state decision-makers throughout the Southeast, and particularly in South Carolina, where Stephanie had previously served as the City of Charleston’s Director of Economic Development. In fact, when the New York Times profiled Charleston’s economic development boom in 2017, Stephanie was one of the local leaders the Times turned to for insight.
Stephanie works closely with domestic and international companies seeking to expand or relocate operations to the Carolinas and the Southeastern United States. Her philosophy is to invest in her clients from the outset in order to build long-term partnerships for the future. She has extensive experience advising companies across a wide range of industries, including life sciences, retail & consumer, manufacturing and software/technology.
Her efforts on behalf of clients have led to the creation of thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in new investments. During the COVID-19 economic downturn, she worked to help clients stabilize their businesses, including guiding them through the federal PPP loan process.
She works with new and expanding businesses in identifying and negotiating all aspects of a complete incentive package, advocating before the proper entities during all phases of the incentive approval process and drafting all related documentation for Fee-in-Lieu of Tax Agreements, state grants, job tax credits, job development credits, utility grants and many other economic development incentives and grants. She advises clients in general tax and corporate matters.
Additionally, Stephanie works side by side with leading consulting firms and large law firms as local counsel on economic development deals where her local knowledge and tenacity can be critical to getting deals done.
As a recognized thought leader in the economic development space, she is frequently sought after to speak at local and national industry conferences and regularly publishes articles and insights for her clients and the community.
