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Taylor Porter is a Premier Sponsor of the 2018 Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) Statewide Economic Development Summit, presented by Entergy, and to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at L’Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge.   Presentations from national and local speakers will spotlight best practices and big ideas for the future of economic development, with keynote presentations including “Leadership to Reinvent Transportation and Infrastructure”; “Pursuing Inclusive Growth in an Age of Disruption”; and “Incentives, Trends and Realities in a New Political World.” The Summit will also feature a business panel led by LED Secretary Don Pierson, a mayoral panel, and more.

Summit Presentations include:

• "Louisiana’s New Wave of Leadership" - Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, Baton Rouge; and Mayor Ollie Tyler, Shreveport, 8:15 a.m.
• "Pursuing Inclusive Growth in an Age of Disruption" - Joseph Parilla, Fellow of the Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution, 9 a.m.
• "2018 Legislative Forecast" - Governor John Bel Edwards, 10:15 a.m.
• "Economic Drivers: How CenturyLink, Sasol and DXC Technology are Reshaping Louisiana’s Business Landscape" - panel moderated by LED Secretary Don Pierson​; panelists include Terrell Boynton, Director, New Orleans Digital Transformation Center, DXC Technology; Michael Hayes, Manager, Government and Industry Affairs, Sasol North America; and John Jones, Senior VP of Public Policy and Government Relations, CenturyLink, 10:45 a.m.
• "Leadership to Reinvent Transportation and Infrastructure" - Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor, Harvard Business School, 12:45 p.m.
• "Talent Wars: What People Look for in Jobs and Locations" - Rebecca Gehman, Director of Talent Attraction, Development Counsellors International, 1:45 p.m.
• "Incentives, Trends and Realities in a New Political World" - Gray Swoope, President & CEO, VisionFirst Advisors; formerly Florida’s Secretary of Commerce and Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, 2:15 p.m.

The event is presented by Entergy. App/tech sponsor is Louisiana Economic Development. Premier sponsors include CenturyLink, LIDEA, Sparkhound, and Taylor Porter. Promotional sponsors include Biz New Orleans, Baton Rouge Business Report, and Louisiana Radio Network. Networking sponsor is Eatel Business. Supporting sponsors include Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, GNO, Inc., One Acadiana, North Louisiana Economic Partnership, South Louisiana Economic Council, and Lafayette Economic Development Authority. 

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) leads economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area, working to grow jobs and wealth and to improve the business climate and competitiveness in the region. Today, BRAC investors include more than 1,500 small businesses, midsize firms, large industry and entrepreneurial startups, as well as individuals and organizations that support business and economic development.