Last March, we told you about a plan to fly 25 top CEOs here this fall – CEOs who have either expressed interest in the Portland-Vancouver metro area or have been here on previous recruitment. That plan, orchestrated by Greater Portland Inc. (formally known as Greenlight Greater Portland) and the folks behind the “Land Here, Live Here” campaign, is now roughly two months away from happening.
Looking for an update on how preparations for the fly-in event are progressing, we spoke with Mark Ganz, Regence CEO and board chairman of Greater Portland. He said the invite list has been finalized and invitations to carefully selected CEOs are being sent out.
Additionally, Ganz said it’s important that everyone in the business community has an appropriate understanding of “what a win is” by focusing on regional economic development versus competition between neighboring cities.
“My concern would be if a business in Vancouver thinks one thing is a win and a business in Hillsboro thinks something else is a win,” said Ganz. “We want to make sure everyone in the region understands what we’re trying to accomplish here so that at the end of the day they can measure the right thing and say, ‘Yes, this was worth doing. This was worth investing in.’ or, ‘No it was not.’”
As things stand today, roughly two months before the actual fly-in takes place, Ganz said he’s very confident the region is “going to get a significant win.”
“We’re already getting a win due to the fact that there’s been an unprecedented level of collaboration across the region on this,” he added.
Talk about winning!
For more details on the economic development efforts of Greater Portland Inc., check out the July 15 edition of the Vancouver Business Journal.
