42nd Annual Economic Development Conference
Sept. 21st – 23rd, Gurney’s Inn, Montauk
More than 100 business and government leaders turned out for the 42nd annual conference, “Lessons Learned From the Great Recession.”
The conference kicked off with an afternoon seminar for area IDAs and Local Development Corporations hosted by William Weir of the law firm of Nixon Peabody, followed by a dinner address by Ken Adams, head of the state’s Empire State Development Corp.
Former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy ran a spirited panel on global trade featuring Savio Chan of U.S. China Partners, John Wang of the Asian American Business Development Center and Alan Tonelson from the U.S. Business & Industry Council Education Foundation.
MarketWatch Chief Economist Irwin Kellner moderated a discussion on the effects of the Dodd-Frank finance reform law, including panelists Dennis Nykolyn of Citibank, Kenneth McCarthy of Cushman & Wakefield and Bruce McDermott of Deutsche Bank.
Award recipients included Brookhaven Town Supervisor Mark Lesko, who took home the group’s Visionary Award, Joseph McKeon of McKeon Door Company and Ray Pickersgill of the Robert James Salon, who were honored with the LIBDC’s annual small business awards. Bill Mannix, the economic development director for the town of Islip, received the Spirit Award for lifetime achievement.
