CEO Peer-to-Peer Learning Program Now Accepting Applications for 2024-25 Sessions

Posted on by Michael Randle

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Economic Development is now accepting applications for its 2024-25 CEO Roundtables series, the popular, yearlong program that provides a platform for leaders of second-stage companies to share insights and knowledge.

LED will select up to eight regional cohorts consisting of 15 to 18 qualified decision makers from companies with annual revenues of $600,000 to $50 million and staff sizes of no less than five employees, but no more than 99 employees. Roundtables in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Monroe, New Orleans, Shreveport and a statewide virtual roundtable convened in July 2023 and will conclude before the end of the fiscal year. The locations of the 2024-25 roundtables will be based on the number of qualified applicants in each region.

“The CEO Roundtables program is a testament to our commitment to creating a thriving business environment in Louisiana,” said LED Assistant Secretary Brenda Guess, who oversees LED’s Small Business Services team. “By bringing together the brightest minds in our business community, we aim to foster innovation, promote collaboration and propel the economic growth of our state.”

The CEO Roundtables program, a flagship initiative of LED, brings together a diverse group of business owners and executives from various industries – from manufacturing to healthcare, energy to agriculture, advertising to accounting, arts and entertainment to information technology, and everything in between. The interactive sessions are designed to facilitate meaningful discussions in areas such as marketing, strategic planning, operational efficiency, organizational structure and leadership.

“Since the start of this program we have seen 532 companies graduate from CEO Roundtables and create 2,690 new jobs in the state,” LED Small Business Services Director Stephanie Hartman said. “The roundtables pay dividends towards business growth for those who are accepted and graduate from the program. We are excited for CEO Roundtables to enter into its 11th consecutive year of providing this unique peer learning experience.”

Applications will be accepted through the end of March at OpportunityLouisiana.com/CEO-Roundtables. After the application period closes, LED-appointed regional vetting committees will review the applications and offer seats to ensure an optimal business mix in each region.

For more information, contact LED Small Business Program Manager Taylor Boudreaux at Taylor.Boudreaux@la.gov or 225.342.4680.

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Tennessee Gov. Lee visits Texas amid politicized immigration clash, offers to send more guard support

Posted on by Michael Randle

Gov. Bill Lee has offered to send additional Tennessee National Guard to Texas amid an increasingly politicized clash between state and federal officials over border patrol issues.

Lee joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and a contingent of other Republican governors in Eagle Pass, a Texas border city that has emerged as a flashpoint over immigration issues. Lee on Sunday called it a crisis, and the state previously sent 125 National Guard members to the area in October.

“It’s obviously been a crisis for many years now,” Lee said. “Republican governors have been sounding that alarm for many years.”

Lee issued public support for Abbott in January following a U.S. Supreme Cout ruling that allowed federal Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire bouys installed by Texas along the Rio Grande. Critics have called the razor wire inhumane and largely ineffective at addressing wider immigration issues. Last year, a woman and two children drowned trying to cross the river. Knoxville News Sentinel

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Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves again calls for phasing out personal income tax

Posted on by Michael Randle

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is renewing his call for legislators to phase out the state’s personal income tax over several years, and he is asking them to spend more money on economic development, highways and the judiciary.

The Republican governor is also requesting additional spending on Capitol Police as the state-run agency is set to gain a wider territory to patrol within the capital city of Jackson.

Reeves on Wednesday released his budget proposals for fiscal 2025, which begins July 1.

The Republican-controlled Legislature could consider the document as they decide how to spend state money. But House and Senate budget writers have a long history of largely ignoring budget recommendations from governors, even when they’re from the same party.

Jackson Clarion Ledger

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CORE X Partners establishing cold storage operations in Gulfport, Miss.

Posted on by Michael Randle

CORE X GULFPORT, a subsidiary of CORE X Partners, is establishing cold storage operations at the Port of Gulfport. The project is a more than $73 million investment and will create 73 jobs.

CORE X Partners is a leader in the global supply chain and cold storage industry. As part of a national network of full-service, cold chain operations, CORE X GULFPORT will serve food producers and manufacturers throughout the region from a new 150,000-square-foot cold storage facility. The project, which will be located two miles from the port’s main entrance, is the first investment in cold storage infrastructure since Hurricane Katrina.

The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX program.

CORE X GULFPORT expects to break ground on the project by the end of the year. The company plans to create 48 jobs in its first year of operation, with projected growth to 73 new jobs by its second year of operation.

Mississippi Development Authority

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For the Osage In Oklahoma, This Century’s Fight Is Over Wind Turbines

Posted on by Michael Randle

In Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma faced a murderous conspiracy to steal their wealth. 

A century after those crimes, tribe members say their ownership rights were again disregarded.

This time the fight doesn’t center on oil, but rather one of the 21st century’s new energy sources: wind.

In a 13-year battle with Italian utility Enel, a federal judge has sided with the Osage, saying the company’s U.S. subsidiaries trespassed when they built a wind farm on tribal land northwest of Tulsa, Okla. The judge said the project violated the historically valuable mineral estate held in trust for the Osage Nation.

“You come attack a small Indian tribe in Oklahoma and not want to recognize our reservation?” said Everett Waller, chairman of the Osage Minerals Council who also appears in the movie. “I just had to say that I can’t allow that.” 

The Wall Street Journal

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Nova Molecular Technologies Expanding Operations in Sumter County, S.C.

Posted on by Michael Randle

Nova Molecular Technologies (Nova), a high-purity solvents manufacturer, today announced it is expanding its operations in Sumter County. The company’s $23.75 million investment will create 20 new jobs.

Founded in Texas in 1991, Nova is a leader in high-value solvent recovery technology. The company’s Recover and Return model launched in 2017 and helps customers reduce their environmental impact by recovering chemicals that would otherwise be sent to waste disposal. Nova also manufactures and markets chemicals that are used in the biopharma, analytical and agricultural markets.

Since establishing its South Carolina operations in 2014, Nova has expanded to four Sumter County locations, including two production facilities. The company later sold its Texas facility to concentrate manufacturing operations solely in South Carolina. Nova’s latest expansion will add additional square footage to its existing facility located at 1123 Race Track Road, which will enable further development of the processes and technologies needed to meet growing customer needs.

Sumter Edge

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Biden hails robust jobs market as proof US economy is ‘strongest in the world’

Posted on by Michael Randle

Joe Biden declared the strong jobs figures released on Friday as proof that “America’s economy is the strongest in the world”.

The US jobs market defied fears of a downturn again, when figures were released on growth in January, with employers adding 353,000 new jobs over the month, the labor department announced.

The jobs market has remained strong despite an aggressive series of interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve, aimed at cooling the economy and bringing down the rate of inflation. In January the unemployment rate was 3.7%, close to a 50-year low.

Economists had been predicting that the US would add less than 200,000 jobs over the month. The labor department also revised its job gains for December up from an initial estimate of 216,000 to 333,000.

The news was another boost to the US president, whose polling on the economy has remained weak despite the robust jobs market. Hiring was broad-based with gains in healthcare, government, professional and business services and retail.

Biden pointed out that the US has added almost 15m jobs since he was sworn in in January 2021.

The Guardian

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Japanese bid for U.S. Steel challenges Biden’s approach to global economy

Posted on by Michael Randle

The prospect of a Japanese corporation buying U.S. Steel — whose products shaped American landmarks like the Empire State Building — is stirring an election-year debate over just how far the United States should go in embracing economic nationalism.

When Nippon Steel in December offered to buy the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker for $14.9 billion, investors cheered. But there was vocal opposition from the United Steelworkers union, which complained it had not been consulted, and prominent lawmakers in both parties, who objected to a foreign buyer swallowing a venerable American company. The loss of independence, they said, could threaten national security by leaving the United States short of steel in a crisis.

“I’m flat-out opposed to it,” Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said in an interview. “And it’s not just this transaction I’m worried about. The precedent really matters.”

The Washington Post

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Boeing was once known for safety and engineering. But critics say an emphasis on profits changed that

Posted on by Michael Randle

Part of the fuselage blowing off shortly after takeoff, leaving a gaping hole in the plane, and phones and clothing ripped away from terrified passengers. Investigations revealing sloppy work, including loose or missing bolts, instances of tools, trash and even empty tequila bottles left inside planes built for government clients. Worldwide groundings. Halts to deliveries due to quality issues.

And, by far, the most serious problem – two fatal crashes leaving 346 people dead.

Boeing is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons again after the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 incident. The National Safety Transportation Board, which is investigating, is expected to release its preliminary findings soon.

That’s the Boeing of today and the last five years. But it wasn’t always that way.

It wasn’t that long ago that Boeing’s reputation was that of a staid industrial giant, known for building the safest, most advanced planes in the sky. It helped introduce the world to commercial jet travel.

Pilots and others in the industry, as well as members of the flying public, summed up their confidence in the company with the expression, “If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.” The company still sells coffee cups and t-shirts with that slogan.

CNN

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