Posts

An Inside Look: Feat. Frank Spano of Austin Consulting

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Frank SpanoFrank Spano is the managing director of Austin Consulting, where he has worked for almost 30 years. In that time, Frank has served as site location consultant, associate director, director and now managing director. In this role, Frank is developing new strategies to increase The Austin Company’s leadership in food and beverage, nutraceuticals and other manufacturing sectors.

Frank also serves as a senior project manager, directs site location studies with the Austin Consulting staff and continues to conduct detailed field investigation analyses for clients. Frank has worked on behalf of clients in conducting incentive negotiations with state and local governments and completing comprehensive property due diligence services for Greenfield sites and existing buildings. Frank has represented clients on projects throughout urban and rural areas throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

Prior to joining The Austin Company, Frank worked for a commercial real estate appraiser for a private real estate consulting firm. Frank was also employed as a consultant for Thompson Associates, the nation’s leading retail site location firm.

Frank is a writer for many publications including Food Processing and Area Development and is a frequent presenter on the topic of “Understanding Your Labor Market – How to Prepare Your Community for the Consultants Visit.”

Frank received a Bachelor of Science in business administration and marketing and a Master of Arts in economic geography from Kent State University.

 

/by

From The Ground Up: Feat. Lynn Myers of Denver South Economic Development Partnership

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Lynn MyersLynn Myers is the vice president of economic development for the Denver South Economic Development Partnership.  Since joining Denver South EDP, Lynn has had the opportunity to work with expanding companies in the region including Charles Schwab, Arrow Electronics, TriZetto, Polystrand, Connextions, Blockbuster/DISH, Comcast and Trulia.

Prior to joining Denver South EDP in 2007, Lynn served as an Arapahoe County Commissioner for seven years. Lynn is the past chair of the Centennial Airport Board and the E-470 Public Highway Authority Board.

Lynn serves on the Arapahoe/Douglas Workforce Board and on the Board of Developmental Pathways. She served as president of the Aurora Association of Realtors, vice president of Governmental Affairs for the Colorado Association of Realtors for three years and was a director of the National Association of Realtors for six years.

Lynn is also a big Colorado Rockies baseball fan, loves to travel and is a graduate of Montana State University.

/by

An Inside Look: Feat. Larry Gigerich of Ginovus

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Larry GigerichLarry Gigerich, managing director at Ginovus, is a nationally recognized economic development leader with more than 20 years of local and state government, not-for-profit and private sector experience. Larry has worked on approximately 500 economic development projects resulting in over $10 billion of capital investment, the creation of over 80,000 new jobs and the retention of over 160,000 existing jobs. At Ginovus, Larry has served nationally recognized companies such as: BP, Coachman Industries, Comcast, Dorel Juvenile Group, Dow AgroSciences, ExactTarget, Formica, Genesco, Interactive Intelligence, Multi-Color Corporation, Oracle, Reckitt Benckiser, Redcats, The Capital Group Companies, The Finish Line and Roche Diagnostics.

Prior to founding Ginovus in 2002, Larry worked in a variety of economic development settings, including Deputy Director of Business Development for the Indiana Department of Commerce, Senior Advisor to the Mayor of the City of Indianapolis for Economic Development and Workforce Development and President of the Indianapolis Economic Development Corporation.

Named by Governing magazine as one of the nation’s best economic development officials, Larry is a regular speaker and panelist at national site selection conferences and has authored numerous articles for national publications. In addition, he was instrumental in the launch and leadership of the Indianapolis and Central Indiana Technology Partnership (TechPoint), an initiative designed to nurture growing and emerging technology companies throughout Indiana.  Larry currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and is a member of the Site Selectors Guild.

Larry received his Bachelors of Science degree in political science from Indiana University Bloomington.

 

/by

From The Ground Up: Feat. Kenny McDonald of Columbus 2020

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Kenny McDonaldKenny McDonald serves as the primary leader of all economic development and business attraction efforts for the 11-county Columbus Region in his position as chief economic officer of Columbus 2020. Kenny has an extensive background in site selection, regional economic development, community marketing, business recruitment and international business development.

Kenny holds the professional designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and serves as an elected member of the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council. In addition, he serves locally on the boards of Columbus Crew, MidAmerican Global Ventures, NAIOP, SciTech and Transportation Research Center.

Previously, Kenny served as the executive vice president of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, a public-private economic development organization covering a 16-county region in North and South Carolina. Kenny’s 16 years of economic development experience also include leadership positions at the Albuquerque Economic Development Corporation, Fluor Daniels Global Locations Strategies and the Savannah Economic Development Authority.

Kenny received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Dickinson State University and a Master of Public Administration from Georgia Southern University.

Kenny writes weekly about economic development and Columbus 2020’s activities on the Columbus Region blog, Economic Development Matters.

/by

An Inside Look: feat. Eric Stavriotis of CBRE

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Eric StavriotisEric Stavriotis is a senior vice president in the Chicago Occupier Practice Group and is a leader of CBRE’s Economic Incentive Solutions Group. Eric brings more than 13 years of experience working across North America and has negotiated more than $1 billion in incentives for clients. Eric has worked across all industry verticals and project types.

Prior to joining CBRE, Eric was a member of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Business and Economic Incentives Group, where he focused on site selection and incentive negotiations, incentive administration, labor strategy, location advisory, footprint configuration and overall real estate strategy.  Prior to his role at Jones Lang LaSalle, Eric served as director of consulting at Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc. Eric’s responsibilities included acting as lead engagement manager for clients, performing location advisory, economic incentives negotiations and tenant representation services.

Eric is the author and a frequent contributor to several business publications, including Area Development Magazine, Commercial Property News, Financial Times, Business Facilities, Real Estate Forum and Shopping Centers Today.  ​Eric is a licensed Illinois real estate broker, a member of National Lekotek Ambassadors and also a board member for both AquaPro and Team Kick Cancer.

Eric received his Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing from Miami University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School.

 

/by

From The Ground Up: Feat. Michael Hecht of Greater New Orleans, Inc.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Michael HechtMichael Hecht is President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., the economic development organization for southeast Louisiana.  GNO, Inc.’s mission falls broadly into two categories:  business development – attracting and growing businesses – and product development – creating better business conditions.  Under Michael’s leadership, GNO, Inc. was recently named the #2 economic development organization in the United States by Business Facilities magazine.

Before coming to GNO, Inc. Michael led the quarter-billion dollar Katrina Small Business Recovery Program for the state.  Previous to coming home to Louisiana, Michael worked for Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City as an Assistant Commissioner, running the post-9/11 small business program.

Michael’s entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding a conglomerate of restaurant ventures, including “Foreign Cinema,” named Restaurant of the Year 2000 in San Francisco.  He began his career as a strategic management consultant.

Michael holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and an undergraduate degree from Yale.

Recently Michael has been recognized as “One of the 25 Most Powerful People in the 10/12 Corridor,” and “One of the Top 50 Economic Developers in North America.”

With family roots in Louisiana back to the 1830s, Michael now lives in New Orleans with his wife, Marlene, an ESL professor at Delgado, and his two sons, Dexter and Kaj (“Kī”).

/by

An Inside Look: Feat. Scott Kupperman of Kupperman Location Services

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scott KuppermanScott Kupperman formed Lake Forest, IL-based Kupperman Location Services “KLS,” a corporate consulting entity providing site-selection and associated facility-acquisition services across the U.S., in 2011. KLS focuses on providing comprehensive, site consulting services designed to maximize the long-term value of a well-informed facility location decision. This initiative was driven by the desire to independently utilize 15 years of site-selection experience, client relationships and nationwide contacts and resources. Scott’s capabilities make him particularly well suited to provide a very strong value proposition for clients in need of warehouse, distribution and light manufacturing facility solutions. Scott has a history of serving clients with a variety of product types with specific manufacturing and distribution needs, with a particular focus on companies involved in all aspects of the food industry.

Scott spent 12 years with A. Epstein and Sons International, Inc., a Chicago-based architectural/engineering/construction firm. Scott’s 25 plus years of experience also includes more than 11 years of experience working for one of Florida’s largest community developers. Scott’s background includes the marketing, permitting and acquisition and disposition of over $300 million in land assets to a diversified array of retailers, developers and jurisdictional bodies. Over the past 15 years, Scott has worked with clients to provide site selection analyses, site acquisition support, due diligence exercises, entitlement and permitting assignments, and incentive identification and negotiation.

Scott is a frequent speaker and contributor to professional trade groups and publications associated with the site selection and economic development industry. In 2014, he served on the Editorial Advisory Board for Area Development Magazine.

Scott received his Bachelor of Science and Management from Tulane University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Miami.

/by

From The Ground Up: Feat. David Ginn of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance

David Ginn

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

David Ginn In his leadership role as president and CEO with the Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA), David Ginn works closely with the region’s top business, academic and political leaders to shape and execute a comprehensive regional economic development strategy. He also leads the organization’s day-to-day efforts, and is directly involved with global business development and global marketing initiatives.

David has been with the CRDA since its inception, serving as the organization’s executive vice president and project director before being named president and CEO in 2000. A Certified Economic Development professional, he maintains keen awareness of current issues in economic development, thanks to affiliations with the International Economic Development Council and as past president of the S.C. Economic Developers Association. He has also held professional economic development and industrial marketing positions in Atlanta and Savannah.

David grew up in the Atlanta area, and holds a degree in economics and international business from the University of Southern Mississippi. He also studied abroad at the London School of Economics. He and his wife, Jean, live in Mount Pleasant with their two children.

 

/by

From The Ground Up: feat: Cindy Symons-Milroy of the City of Oshawa

Cindy Symons-Milroy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Cindy Symons-Milroy Cindy Symons-Milroy has over 27 years of experience in economic development and holds two professional designations; an Ec.D. from the Economic Developers Association of Canada and a CEcD from the International Economic Development Council.  Cindy’s work experience covers a broad range of business support including investment attraction, business retention and expansion, labor force development, real estate, airport operations, entrepreneurial development, finance and organization management.

Cindy has spent the last 15 years of her career as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Oshawa, a mid-size city on the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario.  Well known for its automotive excellence, since she has been in this role, the City’s economy has diversified beyond automotive manufacturing and today includes significant investment in new post-secondary institutions that have resulted in the development of high tech growth sectors that are driving the new economy.

Cindy grew up in an entrepreneurial environment and knows first-hand the challenges that businesses face.  This is part of what contributes to the success of her efforts in attracting and maintaining investment in the City.  Her drive to succeed comes from the desire to make a difference in her community.

Cindy’s favorite quote is “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.”

/by

An Inside Look: feat. Betty McIntosh of Cushman & Wakefield

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Betty 2Betty McIntosh is a senior managing director at Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Consulting Group. Betty has over 20 years’ experience in assisting major U.S. and international clients in making strategic decisions related to expansion.  Betty has represented clients in many different fields, including automotive, consumer markets, industrial products, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and steel to name a few. Betty has conducted site selections and assisted in developing financial strategies for numerous clients, including Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler, Mobis, Ford Motor, Benteler Automotive and more.  Betty obtains tax and operational savings for various types of projects through her strong relationships, tax knowledge and negotiation skills.

Prior to be promoted to managing director of the business incentives practice of  Cushman & Wakefield, Betty was a director of the location incentives group. Betty was also a partner of the state and local tax team at KPMG, LLC.

Betty is nationally recognized as an expert on economic development issues and has been quoted in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Tax Management and CFO Magazine. Betty is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of MultiState Taxation and Incentives. Betty is a Certified Public Accountant and serves on the board of directors and is a member of the executive committee for the Georgia Foreign Trade Zone Association.

Betty received a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the University of Mississippi and a Masters in Taxation from the University of Memphis.

/by