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Dow chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris, together with Ford Motor Company executive chairman William Clay Ford, Jr., recently co-chaired The National Summit at the Marriot Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI. The purpose of the event was to bring business leaders from around the country together with members of both government and academic bodies to discuss and advance a revitalized national economic agenda.
At the summit, Liveris said that the country has an immense opportunity to rebuild the nation's economy by focusing on industrial policies that bridge among four specific inter-related sectors: energy, technology, manufacturing and the environment. Liveris made his comments during the opening session of the summit, which was convened by the prestigious Detroit Economic Club.
"True progress will come only when we consider all of these four areas together, in concert with one another," Liveris said. "These are not silos of interest. They are related and we must consider this complexity as we recommend new policies and new strategies."
The summit featured 70 CEOs from energy, technology, communications, transportation and other sectors. The National Summit is a clear, strong voice for transformational change at a critical time in U.S. history. It is designed to be inclusive, interactive and innovative, and to drive real-world results.
Liveris encouraged the attendees to resist the temptation to find a 'silver-bullet' solution.
"The solutions - when they come - must be expansive," he said. "We must tap every sector, every resource, every institution and every individual if we hope to improve America's ability to compete."
Beth Chappell, president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Club, said, "We saw a major paradigm shift begin to emerge at The National Summit. There was widespread agreement that we have to look beyond the current crisis intervention mindset, and that we need more collaboration and cooperation between business and government." Chappell added, "We will be issuing a report on the consensus recommendations from The National Summit in the next 6 to 8 weeks."
A final version of what is being called the "To-Do List" will be presented to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke shortly afterwards. The Secretary announced at The National Summit that he would convene a meeting in Washington D.C. to review the formal findings with other Obama Administration officials.
In response to Chappell's statement Liveris said, "The great ideas created at The National Summit are just the beginning of the work that needs to be done. The job ahead now - the job for all of us - is to turn this to-do list of great ideas into a true national agenda. We must now take these great ideas and provide the leadership from all of us to effect great change. This is not the end, but the beginning."
The goal of The National Summit is to bring attention to actions that will improve America's ability to compete in the 21st century. Its mission is to convene a cross-sector gathering of business, government, labor and academic leaders to develop and promote actions to improve America's competitiveness in a global economy. The three-day event featured nearly 100 speakers in a total of 16 town hall discussions, general audience sessions and "Summit Up" briefings.
Photos: Copyright Detroit Economic Club