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In this issue:
Michigan CEO Summit
What does YOUR new Michigan look like?
BLM Higher Education Proposal
BLM Urban Strategies Report
The Tax Foundation improves Michigan's ranking
May 7th - Leadership Summit
In the News

LeadingWhatsNext - orange

Last chance to register!  Only one week until the Michigan CEO Summit!

 Everyone is welcome to attend!

    

CEO Summit logo 

         Michigan CEO Summit

         Thursday, March 15, 2012

         8:00am-5:00pm

         Westin Book Cadillac Detroit

         Cost to attend: $100

 

   

Agenda 

 

Welcome

James B. Nicholson, President & CEO, PVS Chemicals, Inc.

Doug Rothwell, President & CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan

 

Building a New Michigan

Charles McClure, Chairman, President & CEO, Meritor, Inc.               

Sandra Pierce, President & CEO, Charter One - Michigan

Hans-Werner Kaas, Managing Partner-Detroit Office, McKinsey & Company

                                               

Driving Growth Through Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Gerard Anderson, Chairman, President & CEO, DTE Energy

Michael Miller, Head of Ann Arbor Office and Director of Business and Industrial Markets, Google, Inc.

Lou Anna K. Simon, President, Michigan State University

 

Investing in Michigan

Michael Jandernoa, Board of Directors, Perrigo Company

Blake Krueger, Chairman, President & CEO, Wolverine World Wide, Inc.

Alan Schultz, Chairman, Valassis

Brig Sorber, President & CEO, Two Men and a Truck International

 

Lunch & Keynote: Committing to Michigan

Robert Taubman, Chairman, President & CEO, Taubman Centers, Inc.

                                               

Learning from Michigan's "Alumni"

Peter Faricy, Vice President & General Manager, Amazon Marketplace, Amazon

Michael Morris, Chairman, American Electric Power

James Petras, Managing Director, Early Stage Partners

John Webb, Principal, JAM!...Just Add Marketing

                                               

Growing Manufacturing & Mobility

William Clay Ford, Jr., Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company

 

Why Michigan Can Win

Jeff Fettig, Chairman & CEO, Whirlpool Corporation

                                               

Join us for a reception immediately following the event

 

Register today at www.businessleadersformichigan.com/events   For more information, contact Jennifer Hayes at 313-259-5400 or [email protected]

BLM Social Networks

Find us on Facebook    View our videos on YouTube

Business Leaders
for Michigan 
600 Renaissance Center, Suite 1760, Detroit, MI, 48243-1802

Phone: 313.259.5400

UPDATES ON BLM INITIATIVES


What does YOUR New Michigan look like?


Just weeks after announcing our New Michigan strategy as part of the 2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan (MTP), we are asking: What does the New Michigan look like to you? 

 
BLM has launched an online contest andis offering $1,000 in total prizes to Michigan residents who submit a photo, a short video or a written submission (200 words or less) describing their vision for the New Michigan. 

 
To enter the sweepstakes, participants must be residents of Michigan and 18 years of age or older. All participants must complete the online registration form located on the Michigan Turnaround Plan Facebook page (www.facebook.com/michiganturnaroundplan). All submissions must be received by midnight, April 20, 2012. Winners will be chosen in a random drawing at the conclusion of the contest. One first place winner will receive a $500 VISA gift card, and five second-place winners will each receive $100 VISA gift cards. 

 
Learn more about BLM's vision for Michigan by viewing our Blueprint for a New Michigan video. 

BLM Supports Increased University Funding Based On Performance And Accountability

 

Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) 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. Michigan's public universities are key drivers for talent production, innovation, and economic growth in the state, and deserving of a higher priority in the budget process. Our proposal recognizes that the state has limited resources, that taxpayers want accountability from those that receive state support, and ties increases in higher education funding to university performance.

 

 

To encourage performance, BLM proposed that to be eligible for additional funding, Michigan universities be progressing toward, meeting, or exceeding the performance of their top peers in other states. While it won't happen immediately, BLM would like to see universities that are performing at "Top Ten" levels receive "Top Ten" funding by 2022.   Click here for more information.

 

 

Read recent articles about our proposal:

Detroit News Editorial: Squeeze more dollars for Michigan's colleges

 

Associated Press: Michigan budget proposal may bring tuition relief

 

Detroit Free Press: Compare Michigan universities to peers in other states, business group says

 

DBusiness: BLM supports increased university funding based on performance and accountability

 

 

Michigan Metros Well Positioned For Next Economy

 

Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) released a report, Michigan's Metropolitan and Urban Strategy, prepared by Public Sector Consultants and the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program which includes a strategy for accelerating the economic growth of Michigan's cities and regions. The report reinforces the 2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan and the importance of our cities and metro regions in becoming a Top Ten state for job, economic and personal income growth. The report outlines steps the state and local communities can take to go from competitive to best in class in economic growth."

 

Click here for more information.
 

Read recent articles about our proposal:

Detroit Free Press: Metro areas ay lead turnaround, report says 

Detroit News: Demand for manufacturing may set 'Michigan moment' 

 
MLive.com: Michigan should embrace 'old (manufacturing) economy' with new industries

 

Click here to read a column by Doug Rothwell and Bruce Katz: Manufacturing is key to recovery 

 

DATA SUPPORTING THE TURNAROUND PLAN


Tax Foundation: Michigan would jump fromTax Fdn Logo 49th to 7th

 

Michigan's corporate tax ranking, according to the Tax Foundation, would have placed 7th best in the nation rather than 49th (2nd worst) this year if the new corporate income tax had been in place at the time the rankings were compiled. Also, Michigan's overall business tax climate would have improved from 18th to 12th. Read more. . .

 

Tax Foundation Biz Climate chart

Read the Tax Foundation's 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index

BLM EVENTS


Save-The-Date: May 7th 

 

Business Leaders for Michigan Leadership Summit: Growing a Higher Education Marketplace

 

Monday, May 7, 2012

12:00-5:00pm

Lansing Center, Lansing

 

Business Leaders for Michigan's New Michigan strategy identifies opportunities to leverage existing assets to accelerate the growth of Michigan's economy. One of our state's greatest assets is our higher education system. Learn how creating a "Higher Education Marketplace" translates into a skilled workforce, good jobs, innovation and a better economy for Michigan. Register today!

 

IN THE NEWS


Detroit Freep Logo

Tom Walsh: State's rainy day fund may get $130M more

Detroit Free Press - February 9, 2012

 

Gov. Rick Snyder will propose adding another $130 million to the state's rainy day fund in his 2013 budget presentation today, which budget director John Nixon said will reflect Michigan's improving fiscal condition.

 

In an interview Wednesday, Nixon said difficult actions taken a year ago paved the way for a second-straight deposit into the rainy day fund -- on top of $255 million added this year, the first infusion since 2004. Read more. . . 

Editorial: Snyder balances environmental rules, economic growth

Detroit News - February 24, 2012

 

Review panel proposes trimming or revising 330 rules to balance protecting environment with economic growth Gov. Rick Snyder's regulatory reinvention committee on environmental rules has recommended that Michigan slash hundreds of environmental rules. It's a necessary move. The regulations aren't essential for protecting our lands and waters and needlessly drive up the cost of goods and services here.

 

Some had favored more of the scorched-earth approach. Snyder last year vetoed a bill that would have done away with any state rule or regulation that exceeded a similar federal standard. Read more. . . 

Engineering Society of Detroit creates 'pipeline' to address state's shortage of engineers

Crain's Detroit Business - February 24, 2012

 Crain's Logo

The Engineering Society of Detroit has unveiled a program to curb the state's engineering shortage. 

 

The program, called the Made In Michigan Pipeline, was unveiled Thursday night by the ESD's Christopher Webb before a gathering of 250 society members, corporate executives and members of academia at the Dearborn Inn.

 

The current shortage stands in sharp contrast to a recent surplus of engineers. Two years ago, when the society held job fairs to match employers with engineers and technical professionals, the number of applicants was twice the number of jobs available. Read more. . . 

Surplus Surprises Michigan, but Is It Safe to Spend Again?

New York Times - February 8, 2012New York Times Logo

 

Over most of the past decade, budget deliberations in Michigan have taken on a glum and familiar monotony: What do we cut now?

 

But the state that experienced an economic downturn earlier, deeper and longer than most of the rest of the country has made an unlikely discovery as its officials closed out its latest financial books: Michigan has a $457 million surplus. Read more. . . 

Gov. Snyder, Mayor Bloomberg: ImmigrationDetroit Freep Logo debate should be about economics, not politics

Detroit Free Press - February 27, 2012

 

What do Jeremy Lin of the Knicks and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings have in common? Both owe their success to immigration - and both are creating jobs and strengthening our economy.

 

Lin, whose parents came from Taiwan, and Lidstrom, who was born in Sweden, are helping their teams sell tickets and merchandise, while also helping tavern owners sell burgers and beers. But they are also helping the NBA and NHL to expand in overseas markets - something every major corporation in America is trying to do. The more a company expands its overseas exports, the more jobs it can create here in the U.S. - and the more tax revenue it produces for local, state, and federal governments. Read more. . . 

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About Us

 

Business Leaders for Michigan, the state's business roundtable, is dedicated to making Michigan a "Top Ten" state for job, economic and personal income growth. The organization is composed exclusively of the chairpersons, chief executive officers or most senior executives of Michigan's largest companies and universities, which contribute nearly 25% of the state's economy and provide over 320,000 jobs in Michigan, generate over $1 Trillion in annual revenue and serve over 135,000 students.
 

Find out more at:  www.businessleadersformichigan.com

 

Business Leaders for Michigan
600 Renaissance Center, Suite 1760, Detroit, MI  48243-1802
Phone: 313.259.5400
E-Mail Address: [email protected]