In this episode, we are joined by Nathan Ohle, the new President & CEO of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the largest non-profit membership organization serving economic developers. 
Nathan is an internationally recognized economic development expert with more than 17 years of experience leading public, private, and nonprofit organizations. Nathan discusses his career and explains his decision to join IEDC as President&CEO. He shares his thoughts on attracting young people to the economic development field and discusses IEDC's new initiatives to enhance equity and diversity within the profession. 

This episode we are joined with seasoned economic development professional Barry Broome, President & CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. Barry is responsible for leading community-driven efforts to attract, grow and scale new businesses; develop advanced industries and guide new job-creation strategies throughout the six-county region. In his role, he has established the first public/private partnership economic development organization led by chief executive officers in California.
Join us this week, as we discuss what it took for Barry to rise to the top of the ED game and how to build successful economic development organizations from the ground up. 

This episode we are joined by our UAE in-market representative, Abdullah Jasem, Founder & CEO of Dubai-based Emirates Trade & Investment (ETI). We cover our partnership and Abdullah's experience as a diplomat before committing to a career in consulting. In addition, we cover ResearchFDI's upcoming mission to Dubai at the 2022 Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) and hear Abdullah's insight on the UAE's growing markets and his strategic advice to North American economic developer's on how best to engage in FDI discussions while in the Middle East. 
 

This episode we are joined with seasoned economic development professional Danielle Casey, President of the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance in New Mexico. We discuss Danielle's career and prominent roles in Scottsdale and Sacramento and what led her to New Mexico. We also get Danielle's insight on how to manage site selector relationships, the role of professional branding and her thoughts on best practices in investment attraction, business development and marketing strategies.

This week we are joined by David Leezer, Vice President of Business Attraction at the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce in Texas. We delve into David's expertise on using social media as a tool to attract investment and promote a region's brand, as well as his thoughts on the future of remote work and how region's can strategically tackle this new hybrid market and what it means for the future of projects.

Starting off 2022 with a simulcast with our good friends at the Next Move Group! This episode has quite a few fun surprises to announce for both firms! In addition, the group reflects on the previous year and chats about trends they expect to see in 2022. This is an episode you don't want to miss! 

This week we are joined by Emily J Smith,  Global Business Attraction Manager for American Electric Power.  We chat with Emily to understand the key differences working in economic development for a state vs. a utility. We explore the benefits and obstacles of pitching over 10 regions compared to just one and take a deep dive to understand how one even begins to tackle developing the content and value propositions for such a large territory.

This week we are joined by Mark Adams, Senior Business Development Representative with Oakland County, Michigan. Mark assists firms with site location, incentives and financing.  We connected with Mark to learn more about the strategies that the state of Michigan and Oakland County utilize in order to attract FDI and his professional advice on how to build a strong pipeline of prospects.

This week we are joined by Scott Bryan, Founder and Managing Director of Attract Investment Consulting (AIC). Scott shares with us his behind the scenes stories as a consultant and entrepreneur in the economic development industry. We then dive into his expert opinion on how regions can develop strong competitive advantages and recommendations on where they should invest their time to grow their economies. 

This week we are joined by Jennifer Wakefield, CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership of Richmond, Virginia.  We delve into Jennifer's extensive background in marketing and discuss the key role marketing plays in economic development beyond business recruitment and how to implement DEI principles into your content.