Research Uncensored

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. 

This week we are pleased to be joined by Paige Webster, a prominent site selector and  Founder of Webster Global Site Selectors. We chat with Paige to get his insight and expertise on a multitude of timely topics, such as the future of workforce attraction, the ingenuity of offset paybacks, sectors that prevailed during the pandemic and his personal advice on how economic developers should navigate building a professional relationship with site selectors, that and much, much more! 

This week we are joined by Courtney Margetson, Founder and Executive Publisher of FDI Alliance International, a print and media publication that showcases the most attractive business destinations in North America and Canada to Site Selectors and CEOs from Europe and the UK. 

Courtney discusses the magazine's origin story and we delve into his thoughts on the future of investment promotion and working from home, where he shares actionable, best practices with our listeners and much more. 

This week we are pleased to be joined by Lee Crume, President & CEO and Kimberly Rossetti, Vice President of Economic Development at Northern Kentucky Tri-ED.

Lee and Kim discuss what drew them to work in economic development and detail Northern Kentucky's biggest assets and recent investment wins. In addition, they draw on their experiences over the past year and their thoughts on the site selection process in a post-COVID world. 

This week we are joined by Karla Moran,  Senior Project Manager with the Salt River Project of Phoenix, Arizona.  We delve into Karla's recent recognition as a top 50 North American Economic Developer, her advice to students and young professionals trying to break into the industry as well as the key role utilities play in regional business attraction. 

This week we have the honor of being joined by Jeff Finkle, President of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). 

Jeff is a veteran in the economic development field and we capitalize on his vast experience by discussing a myriad of topical themes such as diversity and inclusion in economics, the reshoring trend, the decline of foreign direct investments, the future of working from home and much more! 

This week we are lucky enough to be joined by Shawn Flynn, Host of The Silicon Valley Podcast.

Shawn has led an impressive career in Silicon Valley working for start-ups, incubators and knows what it takes to make it in the region. 

Shawn's deep network has seen him interview some of the top tech executives. We delve deep into his knowledge and experience to get his take on how economic developers can work alongside incubators, his thoughts on the California  business "exodus" and how working from home will impact attracting talent.