San Diego North EDC to Host First North County Economic Summit

The first annual North County Economic Summit will be held on Wednesday, March 5 from 7 to 10:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa. The program will showcase two speakers – Wells Fargo Bank Managing Director and Senior Economist Mark Vitner and BW Research President Josh Williams, who will discuss where the national and state economies are heading, provide a State of the Region report, and focus on the robust industry clusters that drive our vibrant North County economy. 

The Summit is being presented by San Diego North Economic Development Council (SDNEDC), in partnership with presenting sponsor Wells Fargo Bank, and BW Research, San Diego Gas & Electric, the County of San Diego at the Request of Supervisor Dave Roberts and Supervisor Bill Horn, U-T San Diego and San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ). 

The event will be moderated by Gene Cubbison, political reporter, NBC 7 San Diego. The program will also feature two panels focusing on high technology, moderated by Bradley Fikes, staff writer, biotech and high technology, U-T San Diego; and real estate outlook & economic development, moderated by Reo Carr, executive editor, SDBJ. 

The High Technology Panel, sponsored by ViaSat, will include North County high technology executives and researchers, who will discuss the challenges for North County and the surrounding region in continuing to grow the region’s high technology economy. Panelists will include: Erik Bruvold, economist and head of National University System Institute for Policy Research; Simon Kuo, vice president, corporate quality, ViaSat; Jason Blain, CEO, Spinal Elements; and Phil Jordan, applied research and lead author on technology innovation. 

The Real Estate Outlook & Economic Development Panel, sponsored by McKinney Advisory Group, will include North County city managers, developers and real estate executives, who will provide a snapshot of where the region is today and projections of where we are headed in the next year, and beyond, from a developer’s, commercial brokers’ and city managers’ perspectives. Panelists will include Steve Jepsen, city manager, City of Oceanside; Jack Griffin, city manager, City of Encinitas; Gus Vina, city manager, City of Encinitas; Michael McDonald, developer, North City; Kelly Nicholls, corporate real estate manager, McKinney Advisory Group; Steve Bruce, director, office specialty group, Cushman & Wakefield; and Mark Avilla, senior vice president, office division, Cassidy Turley.

Tickets for the Summit are $45 and include breakfast, the reports on a flash drive, exhibitor exposition, and an executive summary of the report. For more information visit sdnedc.org or call 760-510-3179.

—San Diego North Economic Development Council