Site Selectors Guild Selects Detroit as Location for its 2024 National Fall Forum
Posted By: DBUSINESS on March 30, 2023. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
The Site Selectors Guild, a global association of business location strategy and site selection professionals, today announced it is holding its 2024 Fall Forum in Detroit.
The conference will be hosted by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and will take place Sept. 23-25 at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit. Some 400 attendees are expected.
The selection process for the 2024 and 2025 Fall Forum host locations was a competitive process, with more than a dozen qualified proposals submitted to the Guild.
Applicants were required to demonstrate reliable and widespread air connectivity to major markets across North America, availability of large and high-quality hotels that can accommodate guest and meeting space needs as well as affordable accommodations within proximity for attendees operating under strict travel budgets, and the ability to meet the financial obligation of the host sponsor fee.
Proposals were reviewed by the Guild’s seven-person board of directors.
“As the only association of the world’s foremost professional site selection consultants, the Site Selectors Guild takes tremendous pride in its marquee events — from developing the timeliest original content and new programming formats to selecting host locations that meet the high expectations attendees have come to expect from our Fall Forum,” says Gregg Wassmansdorf, Site Selectors Guild board chair and senior managing director of global consulting at Newmark.
Detroit has been in the national spotlight recently, including its recognition as one of TIME’s World’s Greatest Places for 2022. The third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places highlights 50 extraordinary travel destinations around the world.
Also in 2022, Detroit was named the No. 1 emerging startup ecosystem globally, according to rankings from Startup Genome’s 2022 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER). The GSER provides a comprehensive review of the startup world, with data from more than three million companies across 280+ entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems.
Two public spaces in Detroit have also been named best in the country by USA Today readers: The Detroit International RiverWalk was voted best riverwalk and Campus Martius was named best public square.
In addition, CNBC in January named Michigan one of three states poised to “dominate” electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing in the United States by 2030. Michigan is leading the charge to position the U.S. as a global EV competitor through this increased manufacturing capacity. Last month, Ford announced it was investing more than $3.5 billion to construct and equip a new 2.5 million-square-foot EV battery manufacturing facility in Marshall.
The project is expected to create 2,500 jobs that will add to the region’s tax base and help further the company’s EV future in the state. In 2022, the state attracted more than $14 billion in EV and battery investments while developing programs to train and employ the next generation of talent in the EV and mobility sector.
“We are grateful to the Site Selectors Guild for honoring Detroit with this selection! Detroit’s continued evolution as an international city at the center of a diversified cross-border regional economy that regularly hosts global events like this Fall Forum is not surprising. Whether it’s site selectors or companies who are looking at relocation decisions, we are passionate about taking a Team Michigan approach to getting the job done,” says Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO of MEDC and president and chair of the MSF Board.
“Hosting the Site Selection Guild’s 2024 Fall Forum is an incredible event to showcase the Detroit Region’s assets and opportunities available here for their clients,” says Maureen Donohue Krauss, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership.
« Back to Insights