Kevin Younis is the 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 goals and objectives, focusing on business development, particularly corporate retention, expansion, and relocation, and ensuring that the state’s economic development efforts benefit all New Yorkers.

Younis has more than 25 years of experience in the public sector, focused primarily on economic development policy and operations, and has been with ESD since 2007. More recently, Younis has also led the state’s efforts to strengthen and grow the semiconductor industry in New York State.

Prior to his work in government, Younis 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 University at Albany’s Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, and a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Cortland.

A native of Syracuse and lifelong New Yorker, Younis lives in Albany with his wife Erin and daughter Eleanor.