Instead of fizzling, Atlanta’s participation in the Global Cities Initiative will intensify in the coming year, morphing from a one-off conference and export initiative to ongoing dialogue with other cities.
A team fielded from local economic development organizations will represent Atlanta in a new network of metros put together by JPMorgan Chase and the Brookings Institution, the organizers of the initiative. This year’s edition kicked off in Atlanta in March.
Atlanta’s cohort in the new network will include Greenville, S.C.; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Fla.; Milwaukee; Phoenix; Sacramento, Calif.; and Wichita, Kan.
Chosen because they recognize the importance of the global economy to their competitiveness, each of the cities will craft a specialized export plan in 2014 with research help from Brookings. They’ll also work to foster opportunities to share best practices among themselves in the coming year.
The team members selected to represent Atlanta in the exchange are three leaders from the Metro Atlanta Chamber: Jorge Fernandez, vice president of global commerce; Ric Hubler, senior director, global trade development and Kelly Sydney, vice president of research. Also on the team are Claire Angelle, the City of Atlanta’s international affairs director, and Kevin Johnson, senior economic development officer for Invest Atlanta.
Organizers of Atlanta’s export plan are currently gathering data and are inviting companies to take part in a survey unveiled at this year’s Global Connect networking event downtown.
Visit http://www.atlanta.net/MEP to participate.
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