Raleigh Magazine’s Impact 50 recognized two Raleigh Chamber leaders: Adrienne Cole and Michael Haley! The duo each received acknowledgments for their leadership and impact that has touched every facet of Raleigh. Adrienne and Michael have both played a major role in the success of the community’s growing infrastructure and business recruitment.  Adrienne Cole has been recognized as a collaborative leader throughout the community during the duration of her time as CEO of the Raleigh Chamber. Her background of Economic Development has landed her at the forefront of several significant proje ..read more

Wake County Economic Development is funded by investments from the private and public sectors through the Raleigh Chamber’s EDGE program. Since its establishment in 1995, the Raleigh Chamber’s EDGE program has spearheaded economic development for Raleigh, Wake County, and the region, playing a critically important role in the growth of those economies with key leaders in business, government, higher education, and regional organizations represented. Now in its sixth iteration, our EDGE investors are vital to Wake County Economic Development’s work and we are honored to provide quarterly inves ..read more

The Raleigh Chamber hosted the second annual Sustainability Conference on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Presented by Duke Energy, FIJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, and Lenovo, the event provided a morning of insightful sessions focused on global best practices and the local actions being taken in our community to create a sustainable future for Raleigh and the greater region.  The conference began with a One Water Panel, featuring Jamie Revels, Utilities Director for the Town of Cary, Les Stewart, Chief Brewing Officer at Trophy Brewing, and moderator Nancy Daly, Water Resources Ma ..read more

At the Raleigh Chamber Community Success Forum on Feb. 27, community leaders came together to discuss the latest trends in talent and sustaining the Triangle workforce. Representatives from RTI International provided insight into past iterations of the study and the key trends that will help us continue to fuel a workforce that keeps our city, region, and state at the top of the "best of" lists. Led by Wake County Economic Development in partnership with the Raleigh Chamber and Capita Area Workforce Development, key trends in the study’s results include: Industry growth continues with 7 ..read more

BY DR. MICHAEL L. WALDEN, PH.D. William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus at North Carolina State University Events have been pointing to 2024 being a transition year for economic policy. The past three years have dealt with Covid and the aftermath of Covid. In 2020 and 2021, the priority was to first contain and then eliminate Covid as a danger impacting the economy. The federal government pumped trillions of dollars into the pockets of households, businesses, and institutions in an effort to sustain them during the pandemic. A complementary policy came from the nation’s central ..read more

Torri A. Staton, Ph.D was recently named to the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives’ 40 Under 40 list for 2023! Dr. Staton joined The Chamber with an impressive background in academia and higher education. Because of her depth of knowledge in Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity theory and practice, she is uniquely positioned to carry out the work of the Triangle DEI Alliance. The Alliance hosts several annual events. Under Dr. Staton’s leadership, our annual DEI conference has grown to become The Chamber’s largest event, selling out two years in a row. Dr. Staton is pioneering the A Be ..read more

By Joe Milazzo II, PE RTA Executive Director The region will complete 540. Earlier this week, the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and N.C. Turnpike Authority (NCTA) announced that they have awarded and signed the final construction contract needed to complete the 540 loop. A total of 18 miles of the future 540 freeway in southern Wake County are currently under construction. The southern Wake freeway, which will begin at NC 55 in Apex and end at I-40 and future I-42, will be complete and open to traffic this coming spring. The eastern Wake section may begin constructio ..read more

By Michael Haley Earlier this month, I attended the Consultants Forum Executive Summit organized by Area Development. The summit brings together 20 top site selection consultants nationwide and 30 of my peers in economic development.   It was an intense but productive schedule. The summit covered various topics, from a 2024 forecast of industrial property to infrastructure and talent pipeline. I came away with four high-level takeaways.   1. Turn up every dial! The complexity of economic development projects must be met with intensity. Today, Wake County Economic Development fields m ..read more

Sam Rauf, Senior Economic Development Manager, is visiting the United Kingdom this week on a Clean Energy and Workforce Development mission. A twenty person delegation comprised of senior and diverse North Carolina government officials, university and community college leaders, and economic developers will visit the United Kingdom from June 19-23.   The delegation will visit Liverpool, Manchester, and North Wales to learn more about how industries of the future such as electric vehicles, offshore wind, aerospace and more can contribute to economic development and increased trade and ..read more

Wake County Economic Development recently traveled to Boston, MA to participate in the world’s largest life sciences biotech gathering. The BIO International Convention is an excellent opportunity for Wake County and the greater Triangle region to share the assets and strengths of the local business ecosystem.   More than 14,000 people attended the conference, representing nearly 10,000 companies and organizations. We traveled to the conference with representatives from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the Town of Morrisville, Raleigh Economic Development and Holly Springs Ec ..read more