A U.S. Chamber of Commerce official leading a nationwide job-creation initiative says Kansas is well positioned to benefit from emerging fields, such as the bioscience industry.

“It’s a world-class university system. It’s definitely well-positioned to play a role in the innovations and the new ideas that we need to move forward,” Brian Gunderson said Monday in a phone interview. “I think Kansas is going to be a leader in the coming decade.”

Gunderson, a former chief of staff to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is the managing director for the chamber’s “American Free Enterprise. Dream Big” campaign. Chamber officials last week met with business leaders in Kansas City, Mo.

Chamber campaign leaders say the nation needs to create 20 million jobs, including 23,000 in Kansas, in the next decade to bounce back from the recession.

Gunderson said Kansas has not suffered job losses as steep as some other states. The state’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.4 percent in October, down from 6.8 percent the previous month. He said the campaign was more about taking on a national mindset about how to encourage innovation to create new businesses.

For now, the U.S. chamber is involved in a 50-state tour to hear from business leaders about challenges before forming a plan to move forward.

“We need new ideas, more innovations on that scale, and I think the biotechnology and nanotechnology and other areas are certainly places where that has come from,” Gunderson said. “I think Kansas is well-positioned to be a leader in that.”