Above / Tech innovator and entrepreneur Howard Tullman is joined by Moderator/Edelman Senior VP Lisa Leiter, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin and Cresset Founding Partner and CIO Jack Ablin to share insights on industry trends; latest tools and technologies shaping the future of business in DuPage County. (Photo courtesy Mac Strategies Group)
OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL – Addressing an audience of nearly 700 of the region’s top business and civic leaders, Howard Tullman, Executive Director of the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at the Illinois Institute of Technology, returned as the keynote speaker for the 10th Annual DuPage County Regional Business Outlook event on May 1 at the Drury Lane Conference Center in Oak Brook. Tullman shared his perspective on the implications and risks traditional businesses face as consumers shift focus to “utility and usership,” rather than on “possession and ownership.”
“If you’re standing still, you’re not standing still – you’re actually going backwards,” said Tullman. “You need to look at your business and think not of how it’s been done in the past, but how it can be done better tomorrow to make the greatest change. Each change accelerates the next change. So, if you’re moving quickly, that’s one measurement; but, the real, significant measurement is how fast you are getting faster.”
Tullman concluded his remarks by reviewing the new ways that constant mobility and ubiquitous connectivity—“the internet of everything”— will change our day-to-day lives and how we interact with each other. More importantly, how our interaction with the machines and robots will increasingly be a larger part of our lives.
DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin opened event
Prior to Tullman’s remarks, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin opened the event by presenting a DuPage County economic outlook. Sharing highlights from the first quarter of 2019, Cronin noted DuPage County’s continued pattern of economic sustainability and consistent growth.
“At just 3.2 percent, DuPage County’s unemployment rate is the lowest in the region and second lowest in the state,” said Cronin. “We create a business-friendly culture in the county resulting in persistent, steady industry growth and low office and industrial vacancies. We are driving development and heightening the county’s status at the forefront of Illinois’ suburban economies.”
Following Chairman Cronin’s county update, Cresset Founding Partner and CIO Jack Ablin provided an economic market outlook for Illinois and the national landscape. While detailing his views on the practice and study of economics—from taxes to social trends in spending and saving—he explained, we are starting to see policy makers moving communities.
“Economics is not a hard science; it’s a social science,” said Ablin. “Economic pendulums can only swing so far in one direction until we go too far. That creates a social pushback and then the pendulum is going to swing the other way.”
Annual Regional Business Outlook
The annual Regional Business Outlook event, hosted by Choose DuPage Economic Development Alliance, Mesirow Financial and Ice Miller LLP, brings together DuPage County’s business owners and executives, government and education leaders and other members of the local business community to gain key insights about the current regional and national economic landscape, as well as to discuss best practices and growing potential in today’s economy.
This year’s event highlighted DuPage County’s thriving business climate and reinforced the spirit of innovation and opportunities throughout the business community. Choose DuPage continues to promote the region’s diverse assets, economic strengths and opportunities for investment in an effort to continue future economic development for the region.
Story and photos submitted by Adam Mueller, Mac Strategies Group, for Choose DuPage.
Editor’s Note, May 3, 2019 / Economic indicators for April 2019 show a strong GDP with wages up for U.S. workers while inflation continues to be low. According to the April jobs report released today, the United States added 263,000 jobs and the Unemployment Rate fell to 3.6 percent. Consistent with the optimistic forecast promoted by Choose DuPage on Wednesday, the economy nationwide produced another strong month of growth. One area to watch, say economists, is manufacturing since manufacturing employment has stalled.
