L.A. Business This Week

On Tuesday, the Chamber convened some of the region's most influential business and public sector leaders for a half-day State of L.A. Infrastructure Summit in Downtown L.A. Topics addressed included what infrastructure investments L.A.’s largest companies and public bodies are making over the next few decades to remain economically competitive, and how L.A.’s private and public sectors can work together to fund our region’s future infrastructure needs. The event, presented by Siemens and co-hosted by the Los Angeles Times, featured a keynote address by Chairman, President and CEO of Edison International, Ted F. Craver, Jr.; a conversation with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Chamber President and CEO Gary Toebben; and a panel discussion moderated by L.A. City Controller Ron Galperin. The summit also included the release of "Los Angeles Infrastructure Blueprint" report. read the report

BOTTOM LINE: The Chamber brings leaders together to set a comprehensive, pro-business regional infrastructure policy agenda that will help L.A. compete in a 21st century global economy.

Drucker Day 2015: The creative organization

The Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management - Claremont Graduate University, recognizing traditional industries are now faced with the opportunity to invent new ways of doing business in the global economy, invites Chamber members to Drucker Day 2015 on Saturday, Nov. 14. Invited executives from across industries who have used different methods of disruption and innovation to propel their organization to success will be on hand for this one day event. The Drucker School is one of the top-ranked management and MBA programs in Southern California and prides itself, not only in high expectations and challenging programs, but also expert guidance and encouragement. RSVP today WITH DISCOUNT code CHamber25.

BOTTOM LINE: Drucker Day 2015 will help prepare and manage your company's top talent's development of creative drivers of business success.

Southern California Leadership Network is once again celebrating dynamic leadership at this year’s Visionaries Awards on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at the Majestic Downtown. Join the Chamber as we honor four outstanding individuals for their contributions in making the L.A. region an even better place to live, work and play. The honorees include Danielle Brazell, general manager, department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; Mayor James Butts, City of Inglewood; Julia Gouw, president, COO & board member, East West Bank and Jake Wood, CEO & co-founder, Rubicon. In addition to applauding these leaders, it is a great opportunity to network with fellow Chamber members. Additionally, businesses have the opportunity to sponsor this event, showing your company’s support for people who are making L.A. extraordinary. For sponsorship inquiries, contact Nancy Olson. RSVP TODAY!

BOTTOM LINE: The Chamber knows the importance of thoughtful and engaged leadership. Join us for the 2015 Visionaries Awards as we celebrate individuals who embody such qualities.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office today released the details of the historic 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement one month after talks completed on Oct. 5. The TPP deal will now go to Congress for approval before President Obama can sign the agreement between the United States and 11 other nations: Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. The Chamber has advocated strongly for the TPP in D.C. for a number of years, championing the deal during the annual ACCESS Washington, D.C. trip, since, if ratified, this treaty would not only benefit the United States as a whole, but also uniquely and specifically the L.A. economy, which serves as the gateway to and from the U.S. for trade with these countries. TPP FULL TEXT

BOTTOM LINE: Improving access to trade with other countries is an effective strategy to achieving good paying jobs and a better quality of life for all in L.A. and this country.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Friday that the Obama Administration selected L.A. as a Performance Partnership Pilot for Disconnected Youth (P3), a designation that allows local and state governments to pilot improved ways of assisting disconnected youth with federal dollars. The Chamber supported the City's P3 application and will be a lead partner in its implementation. This status gives agencies added flexibility in the use of discretionary funds across multiple federal programs. The designation comes with a $700,000 grant to fund a planning effort — led by the city’s Economic & Workforce Development Department — that will bring together local and federal agencies to provide wraparound services to improve education, employment, and social outcomes for youth with a history of homelessness, chronic school absenteeism, or involvement in the child welfare and criminal justice system. read the full press release

BOTTOM LINE: Chamber to be lead partner on initiative that assists L.A. in aligning resources, providing waivers and helping identify new opportunities to improve service delivery outcomes for disconnected youth.

Because the L.A. Area Chamber is strongly commited to education and workforce development (EDWD), it leverages its capacity to support other chambers in developing impactful, regional, EDWD agendas. Last week, the Chamber hosted the second of three sessions for 20 chamber executives from across the nation who are participating in the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executive’s (ACCE) Fellowship for Education Attainment to share successful practices and offer their peers hands–on technical assistance. During the session, key leadership from the Chamber met with fellows about the intersection of the L.A. Area Chamber’s EDWD work and its overarching chamber agenda, and how to build and sustain an EDWD agenda. The Chamber officially partnered with ACCE in 2011 to develop ACCE’s Education Attainment Division, which assists chamber executives and senior staff as they mobilize efforts to improve the birth-to-career education pipeline in their communities. more about ACCE's EDUCATION ATTAINMENT DIVISION.

BOTTOM LINE: L.A. Area Chamber elevates education and workforce development opportunities across the nation.

The Nagoya Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman Tokuichi Okaya and L.A. Area Chamber Senior Vice President, Carlos J. Valderrama participated in a formal ceremony celebrating the Sister Chambers’ agreement signed in 1960. This partnership, together with the L.A. Sister City and Ports relationships with Nagoya, is a critical element in the strong cultural, commercial and industrial ties that joins these two world class cities. The greater Nagoya region is the hub of Japanese manufacturing industries, producing more than 40 percent of major manufacturing categories, such as automobiles, automobile parts, machine tools and aircraft parts, and exerts its role as a strong leader in the Japanese economy.

BOTTOM LINE: Global partnerships are key elements in our regional, economic development strategy.

The fight to retain and build companies in the U.S. has proved discouraging for many foreign-born entrepreneurs due to current immigration policy, as discussed at the Chamber’s bi-monthly Innovation and Technology Council meeting Wednesday. The event was presented in partnership with the Southern California chapter of FWD.us, a comprehensive immigration reform advocacy group formed by leaders in the technology industry. The meeting featured a candid discussion with executive director Catherine Lyons, as well as two L.A. tech company founders, Will Sentance, chief technology officer of Codesmith and Lina Chen, co-founder and CEO of Nix Hydra. The presentation included an update on the pending status of the Entrepreneurs Pathways Program (aka Startup Visa), a program resulting from President Obama’s November 2014 executive actions on immigration policy that will positively impact the nation’s tech ecosystems, as well as an introduction of Push 4 Reform, an online platform for supporters to send letters to Congress. learn more about push 4 reform.

BOTTOM LINE: The Chamber aims to promote policies that strengthen the innovation and technology industries, elevate their global reach and drive job creation and regional economic prosperity.

The Los Angeles Timesrecently wrote an article on Stephanie Valdivia, a former UNITE-LA intern whose experience with the juvenile justice system serves to show how challenging it can be for young people to turn their lives around. Bad decisions and choices landed her in a youth detention camp. Even after her release, she owes nearly $30,000 in restitution to the victim. UNITE-LA is currently raising funds to cover her restitution, as well as scholarships to help her pursue her educational goals. click here to donate to the Stephanie Valdivia Restitution/Education Fund.

BOTTOM LINE: The Chamber's UNITE-LA works to not only transform education, but also to change lives.