April 7: Chris Camacho | Greater Phoenix Economic Council | COVID-19 MINISERIES

April 7: Chris Camacho | Greater Phoenix Economic Council | COVID-19 MINISERIES 150 150 America's Jobs Team

Chris Camacho joins Carla Sones to dive into how the Greater Phoenix area is responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Chris talks about all the initiatives and programs GPEC has made available to their business community, including:

– Their COVID-19 resources page populated with community responses by cities and towns and other statewide resources

– The #GreaterPHXTogether landing page which was launched to consolidate and communicate the positive things happening in their region

– A webinar series called the Regional Report to inform stakeholders on the rapidly evolving COVID-19 impacts.

A proven leader with more than 10 years in executive management roles, Chris Camacho serves as the president and CEO at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), one of the longest-standing public-private partnerships for economic development across the country. During his tenure, GPEC has led the attraction of more than 322 companies creating 55,617 jobs and $5.6 billion in capital investment.

An expanded list of GPEC initiatives:

  • COVID-19 Resources page populated with community responses by cities and towns and other statewide resources live on GPEC web site.
  • #GreaterPHXTogether landing page, launched to consolidate and communicate the positive things happening in the region and to celebrate how people are coming together during these trying times.
  • When social distancing and work from home policies were instituted across organizations in Arizona, GPEC immediately pivoted to launch a webinar series – The Regional Report – to inform stakeholders on the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on businesses and communities.
    • March 30, 2020: GPEC hosted more than 560 business, community, and economic development leaders for a webinar focused on Healthcare and the Economy. Peter Fine, CEO of Banner Health, Jim Rounds, Economist and CEO of Rounds Consulting, and Chris Camacho, President and CEO of GPEC covered 1) healthcare response and capacity; 2) economic impact; 3) regional response.
    • Coming on April 9: Regional Report will focus on the global supply chain. Speakers: Mike Madsen, CEO of Honeywell; Chris Koch, President & CEO, Carlisle.
  • GPEC supported the launch of COVID19.PipelineAZ.com by the Partnership for Economic Innovation. This is a technology platform that helps job seekers find employment opportunities and provides resources to help navigate career change. GPEC assisted with marketing strategy and media outreach.
  • GPEC created Zoom backgrounds and social media banners and made these available to the public as free downloads. This creative asset promotes and celebrates togetherness and recognizes healthcare heroes.
  • GPEC virtually convenes Economic Development Director Team (EDDT) regularly to discuss regional coordination and development of shared resources. This is also an opportunity for EDDTs to share and exchange information.
  • Chris joined an ad-hoc group of leaders from the state, business, and nonprofit sectors. This group meets weekly to share information and discusses cross-sector coordination and responses. The group informs state leadership on policy.
  • GPEC has engaged the state with an opportunity to leverage emergency management best practice models and expertise developed by a global consulting firm.
  • Financial Resources – this page consolidates the options available to businesses and provides insight about how to navigate the application process for programs covered under the CARES Act.

COVID-19 RESPONSE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Every weekday America’s Jobs Team will be airing a new episode focusing on the response to the coronavirus pandemic from the perspective of economic developers and site consultants alike. We have gathered that our listening audience has a deep desire to hear from other economic development professionals about how they are handling this crisis. Due to the frequency of podcast releases, we will not be sending a daily email with the new episodes. To get each episode as it is released, please search “America’s Jobs Team” on your preferred podcast app and subscribe.