Inside LiveXchange 2017

LiveXchange offers a unique opportunity for corporate executives eyeing locations for their new facilities to have quality face-time with major economic development agency representatives.

By Jack Rogers
From the May/June 2017 Issue

The 13th Annual Business Facilities’ LiveXchange event kicked off at the Hyatt Centric Park City in Park City, UT with an inspirational keynote delivered by Olympic Champion Billy Demong, who participated in five consecutive Winter Olympics as a member of the U.S. ski team and in 2010 became the first American to win a gold medal in Nordic skiing.

LiveXchange 2017LiveXchange 2017 also featured a spirited panel discussion in which industry experts and attendees debated whether the current upheaval surrounding Brexit and NAFTA marks the beginning of the end of free trade.

LiveXchange 2017 brought together dozens of representatives from major economic development agencies in a series of face-to-face deal-making sessions with corporate site selectors seeking locations for pre-certified projects involving new facilities, expansions and relocations. Corporate delegates who brought project plans to this year’s event included Fortune 500 giants Lockheed Martin, 3M and Tractor Supply.

LiveXchange 2017
Billy Demong
Executive Director, USA Nordic Sport

Group C Media Co-President Ted Coene, who created the unique LiveX concept more than a decade ago, hailed LiveXchange 2017 as the most successful of the series.

“The response from our attendees to our annual event has been amazing,” Coene said. “Each year, more and more of them confirm to us that the LiveX formula combining intimate business meetings with informal, enjoyable networking offers them an unmatched deal-making opportunity. They tell us it’s perfect for them and they can’t find anything like it in our industry.”

Coene added, “LiveXchange offers the most measurable return available for two well-spent days of business travel. No other event delivers a customized itinerary that puts site selectors at the same table with the locations they’re considering for projects and showcases industry leaders presenting informative seminars on key issues confronting economic development, while making sure everyone has a great time at a high-quality venue.”

LiveXchange 2017
Courtney Fingar
Editor-in-Chief, fDi Magazine

Coene announced the next LiveXchange will take place May 6-8, 2018 at The Edgewater in Madison, WI.

Demong, who lives in Park City and currently is the Global Marketing Director at Reynolds Cycling, detailed the rigors of training for the Nordic Combined event (a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing) at five consecutive Olympics. With a spectacular vista of the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop at the 2017 LiveXchange venue, he related his training experience to successful business practices, including strategic planning, efficiency and innovation.

“You have to maximize all of these to come out on top in business and athletics,” he said.

LiveXchange 2017
Jack Rogers
Editor-in-Chief, Business Facilities

The LiveX panel discussion, entitled BREXIT, NAFTA: The Beginning of the End of Free Trade? was led by Business Facilities Editor in Chief Jack Rogers and fDi Magazine Editor in Chief Courtney Fingar.

Industry experts presenting seminars in the LiveXchange 2017 program included Allea Newbold, principal of Ryan LLC, who conducted a session on Evaluating and Negotiating Incentives; Adam Wasserman, Managing Parner, GLD Partners (The Evolution of the Global Supply Chain); Angelos Angelou, Principal Executive Officer/Chief Strategist, AngelouEconomics (Mentoring Entrepreneurship); and Jerry Szatan, Founder and Principal, Szatan Associates (Issues in Facility Consolidation Analysis).

To register for LiveXchange 2018 in Madison, WI, contact Neil Eisenberg, Group C Vice President of Marketing and Audience Development, at neisenberg@groupc.com.