2012 Economic Luncheon

The annual Economic Luncheon took place on March 29, 2012. Hosted by the Washtenaw Economic Club and AnnArbor.com Business Review, the luncheon feautred George Fulton, University of Michigan Economist, who announced the results of his local economic study & forecast, Nathan Bomey also hosted a conversation with Michael Finney.

For more information about the Ecnomonic Outlook luncheon and upcoming Economic Club events, visit Washtenaw Economic Club.

 

 

Michael Finney

Michael Finney is the President and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the State of Michigan’s lead economic development agency, and is responsible for executing Governor Snyder’s economic development strategy.

Prior to taking the helm at MEDC, Finney served as President and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK (SPARK), a public-private partnership whose mission is to advance innovation-based economic development in the greater Ann Arbor, Michigan region.

Finney also served as President and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise, Rochester, New York; Vice President of Emerging Business Sectors at the MEDC; Senior Vice President and General Manager, Thomson Saginaw; and, Assistant City Manager, Saginaw, Michigan.

Finney currently serves on the board of directors for the State Science & Technology Institute; Trustee for the Washtenaw Community College Foundation and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation; The University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute, Office of Technology Transfer and College of Engineering Center for Entrepreneurship, National Advisory Councils. He also served on Governor Rick Snyder's Transition Team.

Finney has received numerous awards and recognition including the 2008 Saginaw Valley State University Outstanding Alumnus for the College of Business and Management; named by Crain's Detroit Business as one of the 2007 Newsmakers of the Year; and 2005 Minett Distinguished Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.

George A. Fulton

George A. Fulton received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. He is currently the Director at RSQE and research professor at the University’s Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy, where he is Director of the Center for Labor Market Research as well as a member of the Institute’s executive board.

He has been involved in forecasting economic and fiscal activity in the state of Michigan for over two decades. He has written a book on the Michigan regional economies, co-authored with former University of Michigan President Harold Shapiro, and he is co-director of a project to generate long-term economic and demographic projections for all the counties of Michigan. A major objective of his current research is to explore the regional economic effects of national policies, particularly those directed at the automotive, trucking, and tobacco industries.