Topeka ? A Senate committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to recommend confirmation of Antonio Soave to be the next secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce after he said he wants to downplay the use of taxpayer incentives to attract business and focus instead on marketing the advantage of doing business in Kansas.

Antonio Soave

“I don’t think we lead with incentive packages,” Soave told the Senate Commerce Committee. “I really think that diminishes the importance of the state of Kansas and who we are. I did not come here because there was an incentive. I did not move my business here because there was an incentive. I came here because this is a great place to have a business.”

Soave has been chairman and CEO of Capistrano Global Advisory Services in Overland Park, a firm he described as a “boutique” advisory services company that invests in joint ventures with other companies, including one joint venture with Disney’s Wide World of Sports.

Since being nominated by Gov. Sam Brownback to lead the Department of Commerce Soave said he has focused on marketing Kansas through social media, other marketing campaigns and a soon-to-be published monthly newsletter.

He also said he wants to reassess many of the state’s incentive programs to attract businesses to Kansas to determine whether they are producing the results that were intended.

His nomination now goes to the full Senate for consideration.