Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable, is dedicated to making Michigan a Top 10 state for jobs, education, widely shared prosperity and a healthy economy. We are a private, nonprofit organization composed exclusively of the executive leaders of Michigan’s largest companies and universities. Our members drive nearly 40 percent of the state’s economy, generate over $1 trillion in annual revenue and educate nearly half of all Michigan public university students.
Our work is concentrated on developing strategy, raising awareness, advocating policy and championing initiatives that grow the state’s economy. Our members are united around a shared vision to do better by our kids, invest in our people, accelerate our economy and get the fundamentals right. We’ve spelled out what that means in Compete to Win: Michigan’s Path to Top 10, a comprehensive strategy for how government, community, education and business leaders can improve Michigan’s economic growth.
All our organizational activities are geared toward achieving the goals outlined in this plan. What’s more, we keep our focus on the future by continually researching and benchmarking new data and strategies that can help advance Michigan’s growth.
HISTORY
Our organization’s roots are in Detroit. First founded in the 1970s, we existed for decades as Southeast Michigan-based Detroit Renaissance, a regional business roundtable. Given the economic challenges experienced by the State of Michigan as a whole, however, our expansion to a statewide organization in 2009 was natural. We now emphasize the development and expansion of jobs and economic growth across the entire state.