“To make Milwaukee mightier, and protect the interests of business…” In the words of business owners gathered in the back of John Nazro’s hardware store in 1861, this was the mission that formed today’s Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC).
One hundred and fifty years later, while the words have changed, MMAC’s goal remains to improve the economic prosperity of the Milwaukee Region. To do so, we start with the vision of making Milwaukee globally competitive in an innovation economy. At the Association’s All Member meeting, more than 1,500 business leaders turned out Nov. 9 at Miller Park – not so much to celebrate the past, but to launch an agenda for the future.
That agenda, our Blueprint for Economic Prosperity, is a detailed strategy for improving the region’s competitiveness. It focuses on three key areas:
Talented Workforce: Building a region of skilled, adaptive and productive life long learners.
Thriving Economy: Fostering a climate that promotes the growth of individual businesses and the collective business community.
Distinct Place: Leveraging the natural, cultural and physical assets that make the region unique.
The objectives under each strategy were developed with the input of wide range of business leaders in the metro area. To learn more and find out how you can help, go to www.mmac.org/innovate.
In a recent announcement bringing nearly 100 new jobs to the area, Bostik CEO Bob Marquette said, “We considered Paris, Shanghai and Wauwatosa, for our global center of excellence, and we chose Wauwatosa.” This gives us great insight into the keen global competition for jobs, and credibility to back up the fact that we can compete and win.
We believe that executing on the strategies in the Blueprint will help set this region apart as a place to grow new businesses, expand jobs, and attract capital investment. We are mindful that the future is not some place we will end up, it is the place we have the responsibility to create.
Join with us as we work to build a mightier Milwaukee.
Tim Sheehy is the president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC).
