Michigan Metros Well Positioned For Next Economy: Federal And State Action Could Accelerate Growth

DETROIT, Mich., February 23, 2012 – Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, today released a strategy for accelerating the economic growth of Michigan’s cities and regions.  The report, Michigan’s Metropolitan and Urban Strategy, was prepared by Public Sector Consultants and the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.

“This report reinforces the 2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan and the need to accelerate the growth of our cities and metro regions to become a Top Ten state for job, economic and personal income growth,” said Doug Rothwell, BLM President and CEO.  “Michigan’s metro regions benchmark competitively to national peers on economic performance and assets.  The report outlines steps the state and local communities can take to go from competitive to best in class in economic growth.”

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Business Leaders For Michigan Supports Increased University Funding Based On Performance And Accountability; Calls For Changes To Administration’s Plan

Urges state to shift from prison investment to university investment

LANSING, Mich., February 15, 2012 — Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, today in testimony before the Michigan Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Higher Education at the State Capitol building, urged state policymakers to end the more than decade long trend of disinvesting in the state’s public universities and renew the state’s investment in one of Michigan’s greatest assets for driving job, economic, and personal income growth.

Patrick Doyle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Domino’s Pizza, and a BLM Board member, described Michigan’s public universities as key drivers for talent production, innovation, and economic growth in the state, and deserving of a higher priority in the budget process. “While many factors influence where a business decides to locate or expand, the quality of a region’s university system is a significant consideration, because every company wants access to the best talent. This fiscal year, Michigan will spend 76% more general fund dollars on prisons than we will on universities. Our public universities are a major driver of Michigan’s economy yet we are spending more on prisons than we are to help a Michigan student go to college. This investment strategy is upside down if we want to attract business investment and good paying jobs.”

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Strong Majority of Michigan Voters Believe Michigan’s Universities are Important in Creating New Jobs

According to a survey conducted by Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) in January, Michigan voters strongly believe our universities play an important role in the creation of new jobs.

“Nearly 92% of respondents said universities were very or somewhat important to creating jobs,” said Doug Rothwell, President and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan. “These results confirm that Michigan voters clearly understand our public universities are one of our greatest assets for growing jobs and Michigan’s economy.”

In addition, voters also believe that additional funding should be tied to performance in key areas. Nearly 68% of voters support the idea of allowing universities to earn back some of the money that has been cut from higher education if universities increase their graduation and retention rates, keep administrative costs low, and increase financial aid. By a margin of 47%-33%, voters preferred this idea to a proposal that would give every Michigan college student $9,500 without being linked to results. “Voters are willing to support more funding for our universities, but they want accountability and performance for that investment,” said Rothwell.

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Michigan CEO Summit Agenda: Lineup of top job providers to fuel discussion on efforts to grow the New Michigan economy

Today Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) announced the full agenda for the first-ever Michigan CEO Summit which will bring more than a dozen of Michigan’s top executives together to share strategies for building the state’s economic future. The daylong event will be held on March 15, 2012 at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit and will focus on strategies for achieving success at the local, state and national levels, and explore new ways to innovate, invest, and accelerate Michigan’s economic growth.

“This event provides a unique opportunity for business, civic and community leaders to hear directly from Michigan’s largest job providers about what they think are the major trends that will most impact our state’s economy,” said Doug Rothwell, President and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan.  “We will also focus on Michigan’s greatest challenges and opportunities and what business and others can do to grow the New Michigan economy.”

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2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan and the New Michigan

Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, announced today its 2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan (MTP), which includes a number of new recommendations for continuing Michigan’s turnaround and revitalizing Michigan’s economy and a new sixth step that lays out a 10+ year vision for a New Michigan.

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4Q ECONOMIC OUTLOOK SURVEY: More optimistic about long-term outlook for both U.S. and Michigan

DETROIT, Mich., January 17, 2012 – A survey of Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, shows that the state’s largest employers are increasingly optimistic about Michigan’s short and long-term economic outlook. 

“Michigan’s largest job providers are getting downright bullish on the state’s economic prospects and backing it up with increased hiring and investment,” said Doug Rothwell, President & CEO.  “Business leader optimism about the state’s long-term economy is at a three year high and nearly a third of the largest job providers are planning increased hiring and investment in the next six months.”

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Regional Partners Advance Strategic Economic Outcomes in Greater Detroit

Report on Road to Renaissance Showcases Areas of Success and Leadership

DETROIT, Mich., December 12, 2011 — Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable, issued the last in a series of progress reports on the Road to Renaissance, a pioneering, comprehensive movement geared at engineering economic growth and development in the Detroit region.

First launched in 2006, the Road to Renaissance initiative used input from hundreds of civic and business leaders to devise a strategy for accelerating regional economic growth.

“This effort has had stunning levels of involvement, complexity and reach,” said Doug Rothwell President & CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. “More than $100 million was raised to support the activities of Road to Renaissance, and countless hours, people and significant amounts of energy were dedicated to growing our economy in Greater Detroit.”

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Download the Road to Renaissance Report

Business Leaders for Michigan Creates First Michigan Ambassador Program

Global executives with strong Michigan ties engaged to help turn state around 

DETROIT, Mich., December 7, 2011 — Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state's business roundtable, announced today that they were accepting Governor Snyder's call to formalize their outreach to “state alumni” to create a Michigan Ambassadors Program.  The Program's objective is to increase the engagement of business executives, those who formerly lived, worked or graduated from school in Michigan and now lead companies or organizations that span the nation and globe.  The program expansion is based on the success of a pilot alumni leadership retreat hosted by Business Leaders for Michigan last month in Detroit. 

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CEOs to Strategize About Michigan's Economic Future

First-Ever CEO Summit Scheduled for March 2012

DETROIT, Mich., November 30, 2011 — In an event, to be hosted by Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), Michigan’s top executives will come together to share strategies for building the state’s economic future on March 15, 2012 at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit.

“Through this dialogue, we can heighten awareness of the steps that Michigan needs to take to continue its turnaround,” said Doug Rothwell, President and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan.  “We’ll be hearing strategies for achieving success at the local, state and global levels, and looking for new ways to innovate, invest, and accelerate Michigan’s economic growth.”


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Registration for the Michigan CEO Summit opens December 1st.

BLMs 3Q Economic Outlook Survey: Negative near & long-term U.S. economic outlook will impact Michigan

DETROIT, Mich., October 24, 2011 – A survey of Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable, shows that the state’s largest employers are forecasting an increasingly negative outlook for the U.S. economy that will affect Michigan.

“Business leaders are growing very concerned about the nation’s short and long term economic outlook,” said Doug Rothwell, President and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan.  “While Michigan’s largest employers have a much more positive view of Michigan’s prospects, their view of the national economy is that it will negatively impact Michigan’s growth.”

“The good news from this survey is that Michigan’s largest employers believe they will out-perform their competitors over the near and long-term and they are much more optimistic about Michigan’s long-term economic prospects than they were a couple of years ago,” said Rothwell. “About one-third of Business Leaders for Michigan companies are forecasting increased job creation and investment in Michigan over the next six months.”

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