The Charlotte Region’s economy entered its third quarter of recovery early in 2021. But how does it compare to the rest of the Carolinas, the Southeast, and the US as a whole? CLT Alliance SVP of Economic Research, Dr. Chuck McShane, spoke with three leading economists on the context behind the economic numbers and their outlook for 2021: 

Dr. John Connaughton, Professor of Financial Economics and Director of the UNC Charlotte Economic Forecast, Belk College of Business, UNC Charlotte

Jeff Korzenik, Chief Investment Strategist, Fifth Third Bank

Dr. Laura Ullrich, Regional Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Charlotte Branch

ICYMI: Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Q4 2020 Growth Report 

Upcoming events:

UNC Charlotte Economic Forecast, March 5, 2021, Noon-1:30 

Federal Reserve District Dialogues, beginning Feb. 18

The CLT Alliance's Laura Foor invites Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), and Jonathan Eaton, Principal, National Supply Chain Practice Leader at Grant Thornton, to take a deep dive into the Charlotte Region's supply chains and manufacturing. 

From discussing supply chain risk and resiliency to exploring how our local economic development groups are helping our region’s manufacturers find local solutions to strengthen supply chains, you won’t want to miss this insightful information.

For more information on STREAM 2021, visit https://stream2021virtual.pathable.co/. 

With international travel bans and many safety protocols in place this year, the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance’s international recruitment team has found creative ways to connect with companies interested in the US market.

After first introducing you to the Better. Stronger. Smarter. , a virtual European Road Show held at the end of 2020,  Sven Gerzer,  Vice President, Business Recruitment at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, speaks with Doug Mitchell with USI Insurance as they discuss how they organized the recent virtual roadshow, and why German, Austrian and Swiss companies are so attractive to the Charlotte Region. 

In December 2020, British-based global electric vehicle innovator Arrival announced they are joining the Charlotte Region by establishing its North American headquarters in the South End of Charlotte as well as its first U.S. Microfactory in Fort Mill, SC in York County.

On this episode of CLT Alliance Talks, Eileen Cai, Vice President Business Recruitment for Asia & North America, speaks with Michael Abelson, CEO of Arrival, Richard Colley with Arrival’s Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, and the CLT Alliance’s Dr. Chuck McShane, Senior Vice President, Economic Research on the impact of these announcements on our region, and what’s on the horizon for this innovative organization in our community. 

As part of the CLT Business United initiative, the CLT Alliance launch a Small Business Marketing Program. This program helped connect our region’s Small Businesses to Marketing and Creative Services with little to no cost, to help support their needs.

In Part 2 of this series, today we are speaking with Marcie Kelso of Kelso Communications and Doug Bacon of Throwing Words. They join us to talk about their collaboration on creating a Creative Brief to support Throwing Words' growth marketing efforts, and the importance of identifying and leveraging your differentiator as a business.

For more information on the CLT Business United visit charlotteregion.com.

As part of the CLT Business United initiative, the CLT Alliance launch a Small Business Marketing Program. This program helped connect our region’s Small Businesses to Marketing and Creative Services with little to no cost, to help support their needs.

One of the collaborations from this initiative was between Loyd Visuals and F&D | Integra Design. In Part 1 of this series, we'll speak with Khaleel Loyd with Loyd Visuals and Richard Cuebas with F&D Integra Design. They join us to share the success of this project and talk about their new partnership.

*As noted in the episode, a link to the video launch will be posted here after the public launch. 

More than 155,000 people in the Charlotte Region work in the Manufacturing industry -- nearly double the employment in the financial sector. Over the past five years, the Charlotte region’s manufacturing industry has grown at twice the national average, and now contributes to nearly $26 Billion to  our local economy. 

Join Antony Burton and Dr. Chuck McShane of CLT Alliance's Economic Research Team to dive into our region's manufacturing sectors as they discuss the findings  in the new "Manufacturing In the Charlotte Region" report.

To download a full copy of the report, visit charlotteregion.com 

The 2020 pandemic has been challenging on many fronts. CLT Alliance's VP of Talent Insights and Partnerships, Cherise Walker, speaks with Amy Wartham, Director of Corporate & Custom Training and Continuing Education at UNC Charlotte, to discuss why resilience is important and what you can do to protect your mental well being and manage your productivity.

For resources mentioned in this podcast, visit charlotteregion.com 

CLT Alliance’s Akofa Dossou and Eileen Cai discuss reshoring to the Charlotte Region. From supply chain management to future trends of international business recruitment, this week’s podcast looks at some of the short and long term impacts COVID-19 has had on bringing international business back to our shores and into the Charlotte Region.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit our region’s sports industry, our region’s sports teams made a new game plan. Our SVP of Government Affairs, Joe Bost talks with Tom Glick, President of Tepper Sports & Entertainment and Greg Walter, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway on how their industries overcame the statewide shutdown earlier this year. We’ll discuss some of strategies around adapting to phased reopenings and what plans they have to pivot for the future.