Keynote Presentation: Reshoring in 2021: Outlook and Strategies
Rosemary Coates, Executive Director, Reshoring Institute

The widespread disruption of the global supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic has forced industry leaders to rethink their supply chain and logistics strategies, accelerating trends toward reshoring and “local for local” supply chains. Join Rosemary Coates, Executive Director of the Reshoring Institute and the best-selling author of five books on supply chain management, as she explains how businesses can increase their odds of success by carefully evaluating the economics of a reshoring decision.

Panel Discussion: Opportunity Zones 2.0
Allea Newbold, Principal, Ryan
Christopher Steele, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

After a shaky start and the extension of a key deadline, the federal Opportunity Zones program is positioned to play a major role in the recovery of the U.S. economy. Learn how QOZs are becoming prime investment opportunities for capital gains accrued from the sale of assets during the C-19 crisis and find out how new IRS guidelines for investments in Opportunity Zones will impact on your plans for a QOZ near you. BF Editor Jack Rogers moderates an incisive discussion featuring two of the leading experts on Opportunty Zones, Allea Newbold of Ryan LLC and Christopher Steele of Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Trusts & Estates Practice Group.

The Labor Market in a Remote Economy
Josh Wright, Executive VP, Emsi

Emsi EVP Josh Wright will crunch the latest labor market data and analyze the upheaval that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in workforce demographics as industries adapt to an increasingly remote economy. Josh will tell us whether current trends, like the diaspora of millennials out of large urban centers, will lead to long-term seismic shifts in workforce availability and regional growth potential. Josh will identify the best practices site selectors can use to analyze labor market trends in real time and to evaluate workforce availability before choosing a location for a major project.

Are We Ready for the Drone Age?
Mark Blanks, Director of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech.

Ready or not, the demand for commercialized unmanned aerial systems (a.k.a. drones) is rising like a rocket as social distancing becomes the norm, turbocharging an emerging growth sector poised to become a $70-billion industry. But the FAA is sending mixed signals on whether the Drone Age will be cleared for takeoff. We’ll get the most up-to-date information on the state of play in the UAS field from someone who has a seat at the table where key decisions are made: Mark Blanks, Director of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech.