Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/233760
UP FRONT Regional Roundup » 12 Face Time » 17 Connections » "Skills are the new currency of this decade." – Ed Gordon, owner of Imperial Consulting Corporation 20 By Rich R edman Envisioning the future 10th New North Summit focuses on workforce of tomorrow "Companies can locate anywhere in the world today. They're going to locate where there's a workforce with the right skills at the right time to meet their needs so they can compete." –Ed Gordon, owner of the Chicago-based C O U R T E S Y o f J a c k i e B oy d Imperial Consulting Corporation Ed Gordon speaking at the New North Summit More than 650 business, education and public sector leaders gathered at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay on Dec. 6 for New North Live! – the 10th annual review of the 18-county collaboration on building a strong regional economy in northeast Wisconsin. The overarching theme for the event was the importance of preparing today for the workforce of tomorrow. 10 | Insight • J a n u a r y 2 014 Keynote speaker Ed Gordon offered both his congratulations and a challenge to this region as he described "winning the race for talent." Gordon, owner of the Chicago-based Imperial Consulting Corporation and author of the newly-published "Future Jobs: Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis," was also the main speaker at the 2007 New North Summit held in Sheboygan. He was impressed enough by the region's collaborative efforts to train workers that he included New North as one of a dozen examples in his new book. "I travel all over the world dealing with workforce development, and what you've achieved here in the last few years is very impressive," Gordon told the crowd. "The reason New North is in 'Future Jobs' is because of the progress you've made in the last six years. You have established what I call a 'regional talent innovation network' – w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m