Pittsburgh Trip

Pittsburgh Leadership Expedition Builds Collaboration, Generates Ideas

During the 2010 Leadership Expedition presented by CHASE and E.ON-U.S., nearly 325 business professionals, entrepreneurs, elected officials, education and community leaders from Lexington and Louisville spent three days in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The mission was two-pronged: 1. To study Pittsburgh’s economic resurgence and identify ways to improve and enhance our two cities; and 2. To build collaboration between Lexington and Louisville and find ways to work together more.

DAY ONE: Lexington and Louisville participants began the opening day in Pittsburgh with a riverboat ride on the Gateway Clipper (cover photo) before heading to Heinz Field, home of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, to begin sessions. Dr. Paul Coomes, Professor of Economics from the University of Louisville, set the stage by comparing and contrasting Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Lexington. The group then heard from Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry, and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, followed by a presentation about the economic transformation of Pittsburgh by Dennis Yablonsky and Bill Flanagan of The Allegheny Conference. Next up was an overview of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, which helps support and promote the downtown Cultural District, from Kevin McMahon. The opening day concluded with a star-studded panel discussion on higher education that included UK President Dr. Lee Todd, Jr., UL President Dr. James Ramsey, Carnegie Mellon University President Dr. Jared Cohon, and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg.

DAY TWO: Grant Oliphant (The Pittsburgh Foundation) got day two started by giving an overview of how the various foundations in the city work to create “transformational ideas.” Next, participants got an overview of the area’s venture capital and angel investing climate from Rich Lunak (Innovation Works), Tim McNulty (Carnegie Mellon), Peter DeComo (ALung), and Catherine Mott (Blue Tree Capital Group), who described angel investing as a cross between venture capital and fantasy football.

Bill Strickland inspired the group with his message of hope. He said, “Environment drives behavior,” and that’s why he established the Manchester Bidwell Center in the neighborhood where he grew up. Michael Langley of The Langley Group then discussed regionalism. Finally, the day concluded with a presentation on Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center from Mk Haley, Associate Executive Producer of the center.

During the afternoon of day two, participants had the opportunity to explore Pittsburgh, from a tour of the Manchester Bidwell Center to a Cultural District walking tour, a neighborhood bus tour and a trip to a local film studio.

DAY THREE: Following a collaboration brainstorming session led by Karen Wunderlin, Expedition participants heard from the Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Mark Roosevelt. Following a short walk over to the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, the newly-named president of the Center and UL graduate Andre Guess, addressed the group, followed by Tom Sokolowski, Director of the Andy Warhol Museum, and Jim Rohr, Chairman and CEO of PNC Bank.

Final day of Pittsburgh Expedition generates ideas for more collaboration between Lexington and Louisville

During our final day of the Pittsburgh Expedition, Karen Wunderlin of The Wunderlin Company led a brainstorming session among the Louisville and Lexington participants, exploring ways that the two cities could work together. Individuals were asked to come up with three ideas for collaboration and then exchange those ideas with multiple groups of three to four people from each city. Some of the ideas that rose to the top included the following:

-> A light-rail system between Lexington and Louisville, and eventually northern Kentucky/Cincinnati.
-> More collaboration between Commerce Lexington Inc. and Greater Louisville Inc., especially in the areas of public policy and economic development. Creation of a joint economic development council.
-> It was agreed by many that Kentucky communities need the opportunity to enact a local option sales tax to pay for enhancements to their cities. Pittsburgh has a 1-percent sales tax that goes for the improvement of arts venues, libraries, parks, and more.
-> Both University of Kentucky and University of Louisville could work together more and take advantage of money-saving opportunities by eliminating similar programs and services and streamlining others.
-> Regular meetings that continue to connect members of Commerce Lexington Inc. and Greater Louisville Inc.
-> Better working relationship between the young professional associations in each city.
-> Bike/hiking trail system connecting Louisville and Lexington, similar to the 320-mile continuous trail system that runs from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.
-> Joint small business and minority business resources and programs between the cities.

PRESENTED BY: CHASE | E.ON-U.S.

GOLD SPONSORS: Brown-Forman Corp. | Central Bank & Trust Co. | Dean Dorton Ford, PSC | Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP | Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC

SILVER SPONSOR: Humana-Kentucky

KEYNOTE SPONSOR: PNC Bank

BRONZE SPONSORS: Agent 511 | M&M Sanitation & Industrial Disposal

BRIEFING BOOK SPONSOR: Blue & Co., LLC

NAME BADGE SPONSOR: Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP

CHAIRMAN'S LEVEL: Advanced Electrical Systems, Inc. | Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA:

There’s a reason that Pittsburgh was named the #1 Most Livable City in America in 2007. Its affordable standard of living, great health care facilities, and cultural amenities have helped it transform into a city of possibilities, with rapidly growing technology, research and robotics industries. It’s been quite a transition since the steel mill days. A global center of innovation, the Pittsburgh region is home to over 100…billion- dollar-plus global corporations spanning advanced manufacturing, information and communications technology, and the life sciences. The region is a national leader in green building, with increasing capacity in energy and the environment. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh is the world’s largest LEED Gold Certified green convention center, and the city recently ranked number one in a study of farmers’ markets and community gardens per capita.

Pittsburgh Trip

Pittsburgh Leadership Expedition Builds Collaboration, Generates Ideas

Final day of Pittsburgh Expedition generates ideas for more collaboration between Lexington and Louisville

PITTSBURGH EXPEDITION MATERIALS:

SPEAKER PRESENTATIONS:

EXPEDITION PARTICIPANT NEWSLETTERS:

REAL-TIME PITTSBURGH TRIP INFO:

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