Telegraph Creative on Tuesday announced it will be hosting the Alabama Economic Growth Summit October 24-25 at the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, bringing back the event first held by Yellowhammer Multimedia three years ago.
Alabama Power is the title sponsor for the summit, which will bring together a diverse group of powerful and influential leaders in pursuit of four overall objectives:
1. Celebrate Alabama’s economic development successes,
2. Rally the state’s major economic development stakeholders around our common goals of job creation and increased prosperity,
3. Facilitate dialogue on the most important issues facing our economy,
4. Drive massive media coverage around Alabama’s commitment to attracting companies and creating an overall environment that’s conducive to growth.
U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard A. Grenell, Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and numerous members of Alabama’s congressional delegation will be among the senior federal government officials participating in the program, along with numerous high-ranking state-level officials from both the legislative and executive branches.
From the private sector, conference organizers told Yellowhammer News that CEOs, venture capitalists, site selectors and economic developers from around the state and nation will be among the speakers and panelists.
A major highlight of the summit will be national media personalities, including Axios executive editor Mike Allen, in attendance covering the event and guiding panel discussions.
The event was first held by Yellowhammer in 2016 when Cliff Sims was the company’s CEO. Now president of Telegraph Creative, Sims is bringing the summit back this year.
“When we launched this event in 2016 at Yellowhammer, our goal was to bring together the state’s leaders around our shared goals of more jobs and increased prosperity for all Alabamians,” he explained to Yellowhammer News on Tuesday. “We’re going to continue that mission this year.”
“Alabama’s had some big economic development wins in recent years. This Summit is all about building on that momentum, and we’re thrilled to have buy-in from the state’s key leaders in both the public and private sectors,” Sims added.
Sims will be on the event’s host committee, which also includes Yellowhammer Multimedia publisher Allison Ross and a host of public and private sector titans, such as:
Will Ainsworth
Lieutenant Governor
State of AlabamaKatie Britt
President
Business Council of AlabamaStephanie Bryan
Tribal Chair and CEO
Poarch Band of Creek IndiansMark Crosswhite
Chairman, President and CEO
Alabama PowerDeontée Gordon
President
TechBirminghamJohnny Johns
Executive Chairman
Protective Life CorporationMike Kemp
President and CEO
Kemp Management SolutionsJames K. Lyons
CEO
Alabama State Port AuthorityDel Marsh
President Pro Tem
Alabama SenateMac McCutcheon
Speaker of the House
Alabama House of RepresentativesJimmy Parnell
CEO
AlfaLiz Pharo
Managing Partner
Featheringill CapitalJimmy Rane
President and CEO
Great Southern WoodJeana Ross
Secretary
Department of Early Childhood EducationFinis St. John
Chancellor
University of Alabama SystemLee Sentell
Director
Alabama Department of TourismGary Smith
President and CEO
PowerSouthFitzgerald Washington
Commissioner
Alabama Department of Labor
A complete list of keynote speakers, panelists and VIP guests will be announced in the coming days. Tickets to the event are available now online here.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn