430 business leaders attend Center for Economic Growth dinner

Albany Business Review

By: Liz Young

Laura Schweitzer said the Albany, New York, area’s proposal for Amazon.com’s second headquarters will stay with her after she leaves the Center for Economic Growth board.

“This year, we were able to mount an incredible proposal for the Amazon challenge only because we worked together as a region,” she said in her last address as chair at CEG’s annual meeting Thursday. “The population requirements would not have been met without the regional marketing, and the construction sites in one county would not be enough. The visual — picture it — the visual of a campus that spans the Hudson River and other sites is embedded in my mind.
“It is symbolic of all our efforts.”

More than 430 business leaders from the region gathered at the Hall of Springs to celebrate the 30th anniversary of CEG, a private, nonprofit economic development group.

Schweitzer, who is vice president for health sciences and biomedical initiatives at the University at Albany, ended her remarks with a call to action. 

“You are the business leaders in this region,” she said. “You have to rise above parochialism and insist that we work together.”

President and CEO Andrew Kennedy announced the new board leadership for CEG: Thomas Amell of Pioneer Bank, chair; Christine Horne of GE Energy, vice chair; James Drislane of Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte, treasurer; and Patricia Fusco of Fusco Personnel, secretary. 

Robert Safian, the editor and managing director of Fast Company, was the keynote speaker. He talked about the importance of having a “growth mindset” and being willing to adapt and change based on new technologies and ideas.