Best MS Economic Development Council Podcasts (2026)

1
Your Road to Yes! with Justin Patton, President & CEO, Justin Patton, LLC 20:53

Play Pause

3y ago20:53

20:53

Developing and building trust as a statement sounds pretty straightforward- but the reality is that in the workplace, and even at home, this can be a challenge. First you need to define what trust is, then armed with the tools to build it in your life, you are well on your way to building stronger personal and professional relationships.…

1
Product Development: What have we learned and where do we go from here?  with Mark Williams, President, Strategic Development Group 26:30

3y ago26:30

26:30

Experience is often said to be the best teacher. For people who work in a field for several decades they rack up a lot of experience. Luckily, some of them are willing to share.By MS Economic Development Council

1
So, you want to win those F&B projects? Jay Garner, President, Garner Economics, LLC answers the question. 25:36

3y ago25:36

25:36

Like death and taxes, another inevitable facet of life is we all gotta eat and drink. As a matter of fact, food processing and production is a rapidly expanding and evolving sector across the country. There are some important steps communities can take ahead of pursing a food and beverage project to help them become more competitive.…

1
Community Livability: A Crucial Part of Your Economic Development Story and Strategy Speaker - Kim Moore, Executive Managing Director, Newmark 33:12

3y ago33:12

33:12

If you look across the country and the globe, successful communities have a lot in common, which includes being desirable places to live. But what qualities help make these places a big draw for both emerging and established workers? Kim Moore is going to better help us define some of these qualities of successful communities.…

1
Voyant Beauty: A Mississippi Case Study with Bob Westover Senior Vice President, Colliers International 22:08

3y ago22:08

22:08

To incentivize or not to incentivize… the great question of economic developers across the country for many years. Obviously, it wasn’t Shakespeare who posed the question but today, incentives are in the mix of almost every job creation project. Luckily, there are experts like Bob Westover who can help companies and development officials make the m…

1
Foreign Direct Investment Recruitment for Today with Florian Stamm, Partner, Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP 30:22

3y ago30:22

30:22

Navigating business practices of foreign companies can be a challenge for even the most experienced economic developer. Whether it is foreign regulations or cultural differences, Florian Stamm is here to better help us navigate the important world of foreign direct investment.By MS Economic Development Council

1
Inside the War Room: How a project becomes a prospect – pre-capital planning and the site selection process 27:20

3y ago27:20

27:20

When local economic developers work with their corporate partners on new sites or expansions- the most successful projects worked months, even years to develop a pre-capital plan making the business case before the first bucket of dirt was moved.By MS Economic Development Council

1
Planting the Seeds of Technology for a Brighter Mississippi Future – Dr. Nashlie Sephus 23:09

4+ y ago23:09

23:09

Dr. Nashlie Sephus is part of the Amazon AI team focusing on fairness in AI. Dr. Sephus formerly led the Amazon visual search and AR team which launched Part Finder. Previously, her team was acquired from Atlanta base start-up, ParkPick, where she served as the companies CTO. Find out more about this Jackson, Mississippi native’s vision of growth f…

1
Negotiation Strategies and Tactics for Successful Deal Making – Kwame Christian 29:28

4+ y ago29:28

29:28

Best selling author, attorney, and speaker, Kwame Christian, is the director of the American Negotiation Institute and a respected voice in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution. Christian has conducted workshops throughout North American and abroad. Host of the world’s most popular negotiation podcast, Negotiate Anything, Kwame is dedic…

1
Coaching a Growth Mindset - Kyle Sexton 30:01

4+ y ago30:01

30:01

Kyle Sexton is an award-winning marketing strategist, international speaker and the author on topics about membership development, marketing and innovation. He was recognized in 2011 by Chamber Executive Magazine as one of the most influential innovators in the chamber of commerce industry. He has been marketing and selling memberships since 1996. …

1
Accelerating Mississippi’s Workforce Offerings - Ryan Miller 27:09

4+ y ago27:09

27:09

Ryan Miller serves as the Executive Director for Accelerate Mississippi, formerly the Office of Workforce Development for the state of Mississippi. The office was created by law in 2020 to oversee and coordinate state workforce development efforts. The office is focused on being a resource and advocate for partners that believe in Mississippi’s peo…

1
How to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace 27:33

5+ y ago27:33

27:33

Former Dotcom executive and author Seth Godin said, “In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible. Business and economic development leaders often look at successful communities and they try to emulate what that community did to become successful, instead of looking for ways…

1
Opportunities in Opportunity Zones and New Market Tax Credits 22:47

5+ y ago22:47

22:47

Chances are if you’ve been involved in economic development and corporate recruitment during the last few years, you’ve heard discussions about opportunity zone funds or new market tax credits. Both of these programs are focused on investment and development in low-income communities across the country. While these programs may have similar goals, …

1
Trendspotting in an Age of Accelerating Change 33:55

5+ y ago33:55

33:55

This quote was taken straight from a presentation by this episode’s special guest: “If you want to think like a futurist, stop marveling at What’s New and begin to think about What’s Next.” Here to talk about trends which are sure to affect Mississippi and our future in the next decade is Ted Abernathy. Ted is the managing partner of Economic Leade…

1
Influencers: Inspiring the Actions of Others 30:18

5+ y ago30:18

30:18

When you hear the term influencer, it often conjures up the image of a young person on social media traveling through exotic and interesting places. Or, eating some delicious food photographed perfectly. However, our next guest is helping bring the term influencer back to its roots, meaning someone with the ability to inspire and guide the actions …

1
Workforce Development: Madison is Making it Happen 25:12

6y ago25:12

25:12

Special Guests: Danielle Winningham, Chief Operating Officer for the Madison County Economic Development Authority and Jan Collins, Executive Director of the Madison County Business League & FoundationDescription: Workforce development is a top driver of site location decisions made by most companies today. During the recruitment process, economic …

1
Changing the Narrative: An Innovative Workforce Initiative in the Mississippi Delta 27:43

6y ago27:43

27:43

Special Guest: Will Coppage, Executive Director for the Washington County Economic AllianceDescription: Anyone who's spent time in Mississippi knows the state boasts many distinct regions, from the Gulf Coast to the Pine Belt, or even the Hills Region. But no other region evokes the vivid imagery of Mississippi more so than the Delta, best known fo…

1
A Slice of the Economic Development Pie: Community & Commercial Development 22:26

6y ago22:26

22:26

Special Guest: Lindsay Ward, Economic Development Manager of the Workforce Development Division for the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development DistrictDescription: When you hear people talking about economic development, what they're often speaking of is industrial development, which is only one piece of the true economic development pie. An…

1
The Process of Attracting, Recruiting and Developing Talent 24:08

6y ago24:08

24:08

Special Guest: Andre’ Kennebrew, Leadership Development Project Lead & Talent Acquisition Senior Manager, Chick-fil-A CorporateDescription: Just as important as having a great site to attract a new company or helping an existing business expand is having the talent to get the job done. Talent attraction and retention continues to be a top factor in…

1
Location Marketing - What You Are Getting Right 26:49

6y ago26:49

26:49

Special Guest: Deborah Mcgill-Smith, Vice-President - Industrial Brokerage & Consulting, Cushman & Wakefield | EGSDescription: You’ve heard the saying many times before, “the most important thing in real estate is location, location, location!” Even though more commerce is being conducted electronically, location and location strategy still are imp…

1
The Role of the Site Selection Consultant 25:27

6y ago25:27

25:27

Special Guest: John Longshore, Principal, VP of Innovation, Global Location StrategiesDescription: State and local economic developers often place their primary focus and their attention on the site selector themselves, but is it possible that the site selector is merely a small piece of the larger puzzle? John Longshore will discuss the role of th…

1
Key Elements of Meaningful Strategic Plans 24:04

6y ago24:04

24:04

Special Guest: Gray Swoope, President & CEO, VIsionFirst AdvisorsDescription: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said “Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” You also may have heard the Maxim, “those who fail to plan, are planning to fail.” Gray Swoope will walk us through the key elements to developing and implementing s…

1
North American Trends of Industrial Site Selection 26:24

6y ago26:24

26:24

Special Guest: Josh Bays, Partner, Site Selection GroupDescription: In the eyes of many people Mississippi is still primarily an agriculture state, but what they don’t know is that we have made tremendous strides in the manufacturing sector. Agriculture and manufacturing actually go very well together. You have a population that is very comfortable…

1
An Economic Developer's Guide to High Tech Careers 24:28

6y ago24:28

24:28

Special Guest: Carol Henderson, Senior Director, Business Incentives Practice, Cushman & WakefieldDescription: High tech jobs are desired by many communities due to the higher salaries and what it can mean for the community, but these jobs require a workforce with a higher skill set that often seeks out a certain quality of life within the communit…

1
Don’t Get Cut: Critiques to Your RFI Response to Move Your Community into the Next Round 27:03

6y ago27:03

27:03

Special Guest: Jeannette Goldsmith, Vice President, Strategic Development GroupDescription: When competing for economic development projects, the main goal across the country is pretty simply “don’t get cut”. Jeannette Goldsmith will critique RFI responses and discuss the “why” or “why not” for why some communities get cut and other keep moving to …

1
Drivers in Site Elimination 21:32

6y ago21:32

21:32

Special Guest: Chris Schastock, Senior Vice President, CBRE | Advisory & Transaction ServicesDescription: Site selection is sometimes based more on site elimination and risk mitigation than selection. Companies want to be successful and profitable through a safe investment. How are your and your community building a team to formulate core pillars f…

1
Brain Drain: Ideas to attract and retain our future workforce 25:35

6+ y ago25:35

25:35

Special Guest: Tim Mask, President, MWB CreativeDescription: “You can go farther faster in Mississippi”, yet between 2010-2014 we still lost ~8,700 total graduates from Mississippi colleges to opportunities out of the state. With Mississippi experience low employment, how do we address the brain drain in order to attract and retain our future workf…

1
What’s in your Labor Market? 17:52

6+ y ago17:52

17:52

Special Guest: Christine Chmura, CEO and Chief Economist, Chmura Economics & Analytics Description: In the corporate site selection world, data is king! It is easy to say, “We have the workforce to do the job.” “Our economy is growing.” But site selection consultants want more than just your word. They want the data to back up these claims. CEO & C…

1
Organizational Strategies to Prepare for Sustainable Growth 27:16

6+ y ago27:16

27:16

Special Guest: Rhea Steele, Chief Operating Officer, DECA, Inc.Description: An organization's ability to adapt with a rapidly changing world can be the difference between success and failure. Each day organizations are faced with new internal and external challenges which require small or even big changes. Building resilience within an organization…

1
Virtual Reality for Economic Development 20:24

6+ y ago20:24

20:24

Special Guest: Aaron Brossoit, Chief Executive Officer, Golden Shovel AgencyDescription: If you’ve watched any science fiction movie or television show in the last decade chances are you have seen virtual reality devices used as unique tools. These uses are sometimes beyond even our own imagination. However, our next guest is here to tell us how vi…

1
What Makes Mississippi Attractive for Foreign Direct Investment 26:11

6+ y ago26:11

26:11

Special Guest: Chat Phillips, Senior Consultant, Navigator ConsultingDescription: Mississippi has done very well in recruiting foreign direct investments to the state. All you have to do is look at our mix of corporate partners like; Nissan, Toyota, Calbee Foods, Ajinomoto Windsor, Continental, and Schulz Xtruded Products, just to name a few. Since…

1
Marketing Your Community Effectively using Digital Campaigns 26:18

6+ y ago26:18

26:18

Special Guest: Guillermo Mazier, Vice President, Global Innovation, Conway, Inc.Description: In the world of economic development if you don’t tell your community’s story, then someone else will. In some cases, you may not like that narrative. This is why marketing your community is a critical component of economic development. The marketing world …

1
Sales Tips to Recruit and Retain Members 32:15

7y ago32:15

32:15

Chamber membership sales strategies, techniques, and skills to help you build your membership base week to week, month to month and year to year.By MEDC

1
Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast: Economic Development in the Era of Acceleration 27:18

7+ y ago27:18

27:18

Special Guest: Jim Carroll, J.A. Carroll ConsultingPredicting the future is not an easy game, but making database predictions based upon trends and careful observation certainly up your success rate of accurate prediction. Jim Carroll shares growing trends that could change industry recruitment within economic development. Host: Jeff RentStudio: Po…

1
Skills for the 21st Century Workforce 26:33

7+ y ago26:33

26:33

Special Guest: Kim Moore, Managing Director, Newmark Knight FrankDescription: Today’s workers need “21st Century skills,” which include technical literacy, critical thinkingand problem-solving, adaptability to new work environments, and social/communication skills. Earningsgaps between those proficient and not proficient in 21st Century skills will…

1
5 Most Powerful Lessons Learned in my Economic Development 26:25

7+ y ago26:25

26:25

Special Guest: Ben Teague, Vice President of Strategic Development, Biltmore FarmsDescription: Mississippi native, Benjamin Teague,has had a well-rounded economic development career.Over the past 16 years Benjamin has worked to place more than 60 economic development projects andover $1.5 Billion dollars in capital investment in multiple states. Be…

1
Site Selection Trends in the Southeast 28:41

7+ y ago28:41

28:41

Special Guest: Mark Williams, President, Strategic Development GroupDescription: Mark Williams discusses his process and fundamentals for site selection along with currenttrends in the Southeast. You don’t want to miss hearing about drivers for key decision makers!Host:Jeff RentStudio:Podastery Studios (twitter.com/Podastery) - http://podastery.com…

1
Ready to Win: How to Prepare for Maximum Success 29:31

7+ y ago29:31

29:31

Special Guest: Didi Caldwell, Founding Principal, Global Location StrategiesDescription: The success of attracting economic development projects depends on many corporatelocation issues such as; workforce, incentives, corporate taxes, permitting speeds, cost of doingbusiness, etc. This list changes depending on current trends and issues of importan…

1
Opioid Impacts on Corporate Location Decisions 15:33

7+ y ago15:33

15:33

Special Guest: Darin Buelow, Principal and National Practice Leader, Real Estate and Location Strategy, Deloitte Consulting LLPIs the opioid crisis depleting your workforce? Tainting your community's quality of life? How is it eating into your municipal budget? Explore how the opioid crisis can impact corporate location decisions.Host:Jeff Rent, Se…

1
The Journey - Juggling a Work/Life Balance 24:21

8y ago24:21

24:21

Special Guest: Chad Newell, President, Area Development PartnershipDescription: It’s something we have that is infinite, but yet there is never enough of it, and that is time.We’ve got travel, dinners, work meetings, and work breakfasts. We’ve got to get the kids off to schooland to sporting events. Finding a work life balance, especially in econom…

1
Tropical Fish and Community Development 22:38

8y ago22:38

22:38

Special Guest: Jon Maynard, President and CEO of the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development FoundationDescription: A common saying in economic development is that community development precedes economic development. In other words, you can’t have economic development occur unless the community is successful. Our special guest, Jon Maynard, wi…

1
Site Readiness - Doing your Homework Pays Off 18:28

8y ago18:28

18:28

Special Guest: Keith Turner, Member, Watkins & EagerDescription: A top factor in the site selection process is the availability of sites for development. Navigating the development process can be challenging in any state. Learn more on how to prep your site from our guest, Keith Turner, leader of the Environmental Practice Group at Watkins & Eager.…

1
Accelerating Job Growth through Collaboration 22:16

8y ago22:16

22:16

Special Guest: Glenn McCullough, Executive Director, MS Development AuthorityDescription: Mississippi’s Governor Phil Bryant likes to say that, “Economic development is a team sport.” What this means is that by working together Mississippi is able to punch above its weight. In economic development, the state recently won the Continental Tire deal. …

1
How to Be A Disruptor 20:50

8y ago20:50

20:50

Special Guest: Lara Bowman, Executive Director, The EnterpriseDescription: Disruption or disrupt, if you look in the dictionary a number of different definitions come up. Some of the more common ones; to cause disorder or turmoil; to destroy, usually temporarily; to break apart, but in business this is one of the new buzzwords. To radically change …

1
Environmental Due Diligence – Finding Greener Pastures in Brownfields 23:51

8y ago23:51

23:51

Special Guest: Trey Hess & Annie Mcilwain of PPM ConsultantsDescription: Environmental 101: Brownfield redevelopment, regulatory compliance, and what economic developers need to know before proceeding with the acquisition and development of a property.Host:Jeff RentStudio:Podastery Studios (twitter.com/Podastery) - http://podastery.comLearn More:ME…

1
A Bird’s-eye View of Economic Growth in Mississippi 31:42

8y ago31:42

31:42

Special Guest: Ted Abernathy, Managing Partner, Economic LeadershipDescription: Mississippi has a complex, diverse and rich history. It is the birthplace of America’s music. Home to musical greats like Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rogers and even Elvis Presley. Beyond the states musical heritage, Mississippi has helped shape modern economic development a…

1
Greatest Force for Change is a Job 33:17

8y ago33:17

33:17

Special Guest: Ron Kitchens, CEO, Southwest Partnership and Consultant ConnectDescription: Teamwork is what wins in economic development. Collaboration between local, community, regional and even state level partners is critical. If you can’t work together your results will be less than desirable. But remember, projects begin and end locally.Host:J…

1
How Effective Leadership Can Bring Success to Your Community 21:44

8y ago21:44

21:44

Special Guest: David Rumbarger, President and CEO, Community Development FoundationDescription: Leadership is defined as one person inspiring another person to take a positive action. It can be an elected official, corporate leader, or even your manager, community leader of some sort; how about a parent or your personal mentor? Effective leadership…

1
Welcome to Mississippi Prospects 0:40

8y ago0:40

0:40

Welcome to Mississippi Prospects, a podcast series from the Mississippi Economic Development CouncilBy MEDC