Chamber Re-energizes Region’s Economic Development Efforts With REDI Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) March 11, 2014 -- The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber today announced the formation of REDI (Regional Economic Development Initiative) Cincinnati, the region’s foremost economic development effort.
Evolving from the Cincinnati USA Partnership for Economic Development, REDI Cincinnati will allow for: additional top-level CEO involvement, more collaboration with public and private investors, and greater accountability spurring economic development growth.
“From investors, to community partners, to top area business leaders, the messages we received were all the same—the time for change is now,” said Brian Carley, President & CEO of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. “We did more than just listen, we acted on their recommendations and evolved our economic development efforts to be even more collaborative,” Carley added.
Led by its largest investors, the Chamber added key input and leadership from the Cincinnati Business Committee and the Cincinnati Regional Business Committee to form REDI Cincinnati.
“REDI Cincinnati represents renewed energy, focus, and an alliance of diverse stakeholders who have one critical mission, propelling the region forward with the creation of more new jobs and capital investment,” said Tom Williams, who will serve as Executive Committee Chairman of REDI Cincinnati. Williams is also Cincinnati Business Committee Chairman and President of North American Properties.
Vital to the success of REDI Cincinnati will be the continued efforts of more than a dozen investors including P&G, Duke Energy, PNC Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Western & Southern Financial Group. “Duke Energy remains steadfast in its commitment to economic development. We look forward to working with other leaders in the region to help attract investments and jobs from new and existing businesses through this initiative,” said Jim Henning, President of Duke Energy's utility operations in Ohio and Kentucky. “Cincinnati is a region with tremendous momentum,” said John Barrett, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western & Southern Financial Group. “Accelerating our economic development efforts is timely, based on our recent successes, but is also a requirement if we want that success to continue. As a Cincinnati-based company, we are absolutely committed to this new collaboration,” Barrett added.
Another key partner and investor in REDI Cincinnati will be JobsOhio, the private, non-profit corporation designed to lead job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention, and expansion efforts. REDI Cincinnati will continue to serve as a Network Partner of JobsOhio, supporting a “One Firm, One State” approach to economic development. “We are incredibly supportive of REDI Cincinnati, which strengthens the alignment between the business community and economic development efforts,” said John Minor, JobsOhio President and Chief Investment Officer. “Such an alignment is also more reflective of JobsOhio’s philosophy, and will position the Greater Cincinnati area to attract and retain more jobs and investment,” Minor said.
REDI Cincinnati will be structured as a wholly-owned LLC of the Chamber that will be governed by an Executive Committee of its key stakeholders. The Executive Committee is comprised of REDI Cincinnati’s governing Board members. The Executive Committee (to be named later) will include key leaders from CBC, CRBC, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, Northern Kentucky Economic Development Corporation, top public and private sector investors, and JobsOhio.
“To have top-level leaders from some of the region’s 10 Fortune® 500 companies at the table is not a luxury, it’s a necessity in the ultra-competitive world of economic development,” said Scott Robertson, President and CEO of Cincinnati Regional Business Committee. With REDI Cincinnati, top-level leaders are not the only ones who will be called on to provide leadership. “We also need to be able to count on mid-cap companies to step up for our economic development and for our region, said Gary Lindgren, Executive Director, Cincinnati Business Committee. “All of the focus cannot always be entirely on the ‘biggest of the big’ in Cincinnati business, this will allow businesses of many sizes an opportunity to participate,” Lindgren added.
“Our region’s continued success and competitive performance require a new level of collaboration on a deeper, broader scale to take advantage of our diverse assets to drive growth,” said Kay Geiger, Regional President of PNC Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. Geiger is also an executive committee member and immediate past chair of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber board. “Our strong regional economic development network is an integral part of our enhanced model. It aligns our significant strengths toward an increased return on our collective investments and positions us more aggressively on the national and international stage,” Geiger added.
About REDI Cincinnati:
Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Cincinnati is the first point of contact for businesses interested in growing in or relocating to Cincinnati USA, a three-state, 15-county region with 2.2M residents and 120,000 businesses, including 10 Fortune® 500 companies. In 2013, Cincinnati USA ranked sixth in the U.S. for new/expanded facilities among metros with 1M+ residents. An economic growth engine, REDI Cincinnati is comprised of top business leaders, investors and community partners. REDI Cincinnati is dedicated to attracting new businesses, expanding businesses and drawing top talent within six key sectors: Advanced Manufacturing; BioHealth; BrandHUB; Finance, Insurance & IT; Food Processing & Agriculture; and Advanced Energy. As the JobsOhio Network Partner for southwest Ohio, REDI Cincinnati helped create and retain 16,000 jobs in 2013, representing $571M in capital investment. Discover more at REDICincinnati.com.
Lance Barry, REDI Cincinnati, http://www.redicincinnati.com, +1 (513) 579-3194, [email protected]
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