BY MARK B. SOLOMON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR–NEWS
THE DC VELOCITY Q&A thoughtleaders
IN AUGUST 2010, THIS MAGAZINE WROTE
about the launch of a program called “Conexus
Indiana,” which officials at the time called the first
statewide initiative to promote logistics opportunities and to integrate logistics with four other economic disciplines, notably workforce development.
The latter connection was critical to job creation in a
state that was struggling with a 10.2-percent unemployment rate.
Fast forward nearly seven years. What began with
36 logistics executives identifying ways to combine infrastructure needs, workforce development
requirements, and public policy imperatives has
mushroomed into a small army of 220. Work that
originated on a statewide level has expanded into
Indiana’s regions and counties, with six regional
logistics councils. But one thing has remained the
same: The state that pioneered the use of logistics
to attract business investment and push economic
growth is still the only state doing it, according to
“Conexus Indiana,” the state’s private-public economic development partnership,
has thrived mainly because the private sector leads and the public sector follows,
says David Holt, a Conexus vice president and head of its logistics initiative.
INTERVIEW WITH DAVID HOLT
Indiana wants us!
