As a four-year committee member and top twenty-five business leader here in the tristate, Atlas® World Group Chairman and CEO Jack Griffin was invited to speak at the Evansville Regional Business Committee’s (ERBC) Talent 2025 Briefing in September of this year. The ERBC is a coalition of public and private partners formed to improve and promote the business and commercial climate in the Evansville, Indiana region. It leads the area’s Talent 2025 Initiative, designed to align resources to make Southwest Indiana the talent and economic district of choice in the Midwest.

What initially started out as a data project quickly transformed into a dedicated movement. Over 40 key stakeholders - representing Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey, and Gibson Counties in Indiana, and Henderson County, Kentucky - devoted almost a year to discuss how to expand and cultivate the community’s assets to establish a premier talent hub here in the tristate area.

Five separate workgroups were convened to address a different aspect of this objective: population growth,
employment and wage growth, educational attainment, poverty, and health. Each group deeply studied secondary data for the region, identified national best practices, and developed strategies to advance identified goals. They were also tasked with thinking differently about what was required to achieve the outcomes needed to grow and prosper.

“Collaborations between cities and businesses are the cornerstone of progressing and improving long-term
economic growth, resilience and quality of life for the area’s constituents,” said Griffin. “We must work together, so that we can grow together, and ensure that the greater Evansville area will continue to thrive for years to come.”