Podcasts about Greater Houston Partnership

Today we had the distinct pleasure of hosting Mark Lashier, Chairman and CEO of Phillips 66. Mark joined Phillips 66 as President and COO in 2021 and assumed the CEO role in July 2022. Prior to that, he served as the President and CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (CPChem), where he held several senior leadership roles, including Executive Vice President of Olefins and Polyolefins, Senior Vice President of Specialties, Aromatics and Styrenics, and Vice President of Corporate Planning and Development. Mark began his career at Phillips Petroleum and holds a doctorate in Chemical Engineering. Beyond his leadership at Phillips 66, he serves on the Executive Committee of the American Petroleum Institute and is a Board Member of the Greater Houston Partnership and several other nonprofit organizations. Mike, Arjun and I were thrilled to host Mark for this Special Edition to discuss Phillips 66's recent performance, his strategic vision for the company, insights into today's energy landscape, and the ongoing debate with Elliott Management. In our discussion, Mark shares background on his career and transition to CEO, his early priority of addressing improvements in Phillip 66's refining segment, and the cultural transformation to re-instill pride and competitiveness amongst refiners, which involved engaging employees at all levels and investing in strategic capital projects to fix operational bottlenecks and improve reliability and earnings. We discuss Bob Pease's addition to the board, who was originally nominated through Elliott's engagement, and how he shifted from being skeptical to supportive of the company's strategy, execution, and focus on shareholder returns. We explore the history and structure of CPChem, the benefits of Phillips 66's integrated business model during times of volatility and potential downturns, and the company's industry-leading safety performance, which ties safety directly to employee compensation. Mark shares his perspective on why maintaining a diversified portfolio across refining, midstream, and chemicals is strategically and financially advantageous, as well as the optimization and regulatory advantages of an integrated structure. We touch on Phillips 66's strong ROCE versus peers, activist pressure to sell midstream assets for a higher multiple, growth across their midstream business, and broader global trends toward integration rather than asset breakups. Mark highlights the company's refining performance improvement, the rationale behind merging PSXP and DCP assets, efforts to attract generalist investors back to the energy sector by demonstrating consistent earnings, Phillips 66's philosophy of keeping assets “for sale every day” to ensure focus on shareholder value, and much more. We greatly appreciate Mark for sharing his candid insights into a complex and highly public debate. As you will hear, we reference a few items in the discussion. Phillip 66's Investor Relations presentation entitled “Delivering Value & Demonstrating Commitment,” released Monday, April 28, is linked here. Veriten's COBT episode featuring Doug Terreson is linked here. Thanks to Mark for joining us for an insightful discussion and thanks to you all for your friendship and support!

In this episode, Amir Bormand sits down with Tony Speller, Division SVP of Technical Operations and Engineering at Comcast, to explore how AI is quietly but powerfully transforming the customer and employee experience at one of the world's largest media and technology companies. From self-healing network devices to predictive outage detection, Tony walks us through Comcast's internal innovation playbook—blending in-house AI solutions with strategic partnerships. Whether you're a technologist, operator, or just someone who's ever rebooted a modem, this episode peels back the curtain on what keeps the digital world running.

On this week's Follower Friday we have our friend, Misti Pace-Krahl from the Greater Houston Partnership on the show.  Misti is the Director of the Houston Leadership Cohort and is here to tell us about their leadership program. The Houston Energy Leadership Cohort, a 10-week professional development program for mid-career … The post Houston Energy Leadership Cohort: Empowering Mid-Career Professionals appeared first on eRENEWABLE.

On Thursday's show: What will 2025 hold for Houston's economy? Patrick Jankowski of the Greater Houston Partnership shares his annual economic outlook.Also this hour: We get the latest on efforts to address the problem of children having to cross railroad tracks to get to school after an HISD student was killed doing so this week.Then, the Bayou City's vibrant restaurant scene has built up over the years in no small part due to the rise of a generation of talented area chefs. Many of them have spent years in kitchens developing their craft and learning it at area schools, including the recently closed culinary school at The Art Institute of Houston. We revisit a conversation with one of the school's alumni, Chef Ryan Lachaine, the co-owner and executive chef of Riel.And with the news earlier this week that renowned poet Nikki Giovanni has died, we revisit a 2022 conversation with her when she was serving as a writer in residence at Prairie View A&M University.

Perch's CEO Bruce Stewart   Perch Energy is a leading community solar servicer on a mission to make renewable energy more accessible and equitable for all. We serve both solar project owners and subscribers. We offer solar developers and asset owners a suite of services to maximize ROI on their projects—including subscriber acquisition and lifecycle management, a robust technology platform, and deep policy expertise to help navigate local solar legislation and regulations. By managing the full subscriber experience for solar farm owners, Perch is able to bring electricity bill savings to the masses, from renters and homeowners to businesses, institutions, municipalities and more by connecting them to community solar projects in their area. Perch isn't just a for-profit company, we're a for-purpose company—accelerating the shift to renewables nationwide. Everyone deserves to benefit from clean energy. Everyone has a place on this Perch!   Bruce Stewart is a strategic business leader and operator with a career focused on successfully delivering business growth, transformation, and driving business results. Prior to joining Perch Energy, Bruce served as President at Direct Energy Home, and Co-President of Centrica US Holdings, where he led the successful sale of Direct Energy to NRG for $3.6B in January 2021, in addition to delivering a 33% increase in operating profit, renewed customer growth, operating cost efficiencies, 29% reduction in churn and top customer service results for the Direct Energy Home business.   Over the past 20+ years, Bruce has enjoyed building and leading great teams that have scaled businesses operating in multiple industries facing dynamic market shifts, regulatory and competitive disruption and change. Specifically, he has had the unique opportunity to develop strategy, execute transformation and drive profitable growth for companies in three different industries: (a) cable telcom/broadband/media; (b) technology/internet/mobile; and most recently, (c) the energy and home services industries. As a change agent, Bruce was an early adopter in engaging data, analytics and insights to drive day-to-day business decisions, and prioritizing customer experience. He takes pride in building and encouraging great teams within environments of continuous learning, transparency, strong communication and engagement. In addition to international experience leading teams and running P&L's in EMEA, APAC and LATAM, Bruce has a legal foundation that has underpinned nearly a hundred M&A transactions and strategic partnerships.   Bruce has been covered in leading publications on business and leadership topics including technology, mobile, broadband and energy innovation; leading customer-service focused organizations; driving ops and business transformation; M&A deals; and building strategic commercial partnerships as well as industry leading environmental sustainability initiatives within the sports industry. An active participant as a Board Member and Advisor for start-up, non-profit and public companies, Bruce has served on non-profits such as the Houston Habitat for Humanity, Project Rebirth and Comprehensive Care Center; professional and corporate boards including the Greater Houston Partnership, Collider Media, Telos Corp, Exodus/GlobalCenter, CTIA-Wireless Internet Caucus, and NCTPA. Early on, Bruce competed in the 1987 America's Cup races in Fremantle, Australia as a crew member on the Courageous Challenge US syndicate on behalf of the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club.   Topics covered: Community Solar only allowed in 20 states What is community solar? Why would someone not sign up? Day to day, what makes community solar different from paying a utility like most people? Net-metering? Community solar state programs? Which states? Why do some states not have community solar programs/laws? How can we change the community solar laws? PUCs, utilities, local, state and federal laws How does community solar make solar more accessible? Poor people – renters Controversial: Should people still have rooftop solar? -what if you move, economies of scale Can you have community solar and community choice aggregation all at once? With community solar, can subscribers get tax credits and tax benefits? Who gets tax credits? Depreciation? All of energy? Will there ever be community energy storage? EV charging? Pass renter to renter   p purposeful We're passionate about making clean energy access easier and more rewarding e entrepreneurial We're visionary disruptors, challenging the status quo, unafraid to fail forward r respectful We treat our planet, our customers and each other with humility and respect c collaborative We value each other's contributions and work inclusively to make things better h honest We communicate openly, act transparently and promote environmental justice   Reach Bruce Stewart here: Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/brucestewart Perch energy Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/perchenergy Perch energy website: www.perchenergy.com   Learn more at www.solarSEAN.com and be sure to get NABCEP certified by taking Sean's classes at www.heatspring.com/sean  

On Tuesday's show: It's Houston Theater Week. All this week, area performing arts venues are offering discounts on performances as they promote their seasons. We learn more from Dean Gladden from The Alley Theatre and Hillary Hart from Theatre Under the Stars.Also this hour: A month after Hurricane Beryl rolled through, Patrick Jankowski of The Greater Houston Partnership returns with a clearer sense of the economic impact the storm had.Then, we revisit a conversation with Dr. Elizabeth McIngvale from the OCD Institute of Texas. She's co-hosting a new podcast about the rise of anxiety in America, called Anxiety Society.And we continue our series visiting area museums with a trip to the Lone Star Flight Museum.

En vivo hoy en Temas y Más Temas por ADR Networks! Entrevista con Gustavo Tovar Arroyo sobre derechos humanos y la represión en Venezuela. Medallas Olímpicas Mexicanas: Celebramos a nuestros atletas. Emilio Armstrong y la Greater Houston Partnership. ¡No te lo pierdas!

On Friday's show: Meteorologist Eric Berger of Space City Weather recaps a busy week in weather, provides the latest on storms and flooding from Thursday and outlines what we can expect the rest of Friday and through the weekend.Also this hour: Patrick Jankowski of the The Greater Houston Partnership joins us to discuss the state of Houston's global economy.Then, from the University of Houston using “Houston blue” uniforms, despite threats from the NFL, to rapper Kendrick Lamar confusing Joel Osteen and Haley Joel Osment, we discuss The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week.And we talk with the stars of The Alley Theatre's production of Jane Eyre.

Rowena Sahulee is a marketing executive with over 20 years in the dual realms of tourism and economic development. She has worked in marketing functions at organizations such as Circle Line Statue of Liberty Ferry and Harbor Cruises, the first concessionaire to the Statue of Liberty. The Greater Houston Partnership, the main business organization in the Houston, Texas, 10-country region. Choose NJ, the economic development marketing organization for the State of New Jersey. After Choosing NJ, she started with Empire State Development in the Division of Tourism, I LOVE NY, as the Director of Tourism Marketing, Licensing, and Public Relations for New York State. She worked with their PR agency for journalists to write about the States' 11 vacation regions. Additionally, she oversaw the multi-million dollar retail licensing program for the I LOVE NY logo and tourism segment marketing programs. Her next role was with the Long Island City Partnership, the local neighborhood economic development entity in Long Island City, Queens, as their Director of Marketing & Communications. Today, she has started her own tour operation, Meaningful Experiences, utilizing her expertise to offer NYC experiences, day trips outside of NYC, and overnight getaways to the local market. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Rowena about the importance of serving the locals in your destination, how important relationships are to success, and why protecting the integrity of your brand is so important. Rowena also shares details about her unique business model and how she found a niche not already covered in New York City. What You Will Learn in this Episode: How Rowena found a gap in the market for hassle-free trips and meaningful experiences Her vision of creating collaborative initiatives that enhance the community's connection to New York's attractions Why Rowena is collaborating with a local talent agency to create a monthly Broadway program Rowena's vision for future collaborations that enrich the local community The importance of being open to unexpected opportunities, staying adaptable, and remaining open-minded Embracing Unexpected Opportunities Rowena and I discuss the importance of being open to opportunities, even unexpected ones. She shares how her career trajectory, spanning the public sector, private sector, and nonprofits, has equipped her with a deep understanding of destination marketing and community engagement. I love that Rowena's passion for capturing meaningful moments and her dedication to offering unique experiences really shine through in our conversation. Meaningful Experiences in a Changing Market Rowena shares more about how she identified a gap in the market for meaningful experiences, especially for families and corporate groups. Drawing from her extensive experience in the travel and tourism sector her company, Meaningful Experiences, brings tours directly to New York communities, aiming to make experiencing the city easier and more enriching. Rowena's focus on collaboration and shared goals exemplifies her approach to creating impactful local initiatives. Innovations in Tourism Marketing On the show, Rowena expresses her excitement about bringing tourism experiences to the local market and discusses her recent collaboration with a friend who owns a talent agency to create a monthly Broadway program. This collaboration illustrates her innovative approach to promoting Broadway and fostering a love for the arts within local communities. Rowena's vision for future collaborations with other local groups demonstrates her commitment to pioneering amazing and unique experiences that really do enrich the local market. Resources: Website: www.meaningfulexp.com LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowenasahulee/ We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Bonus Episode: 2024 Economic Outlook with Patrick Jankowski   Watch the replay here! 2024 Economic Forecast Featuring Patrick Jankowski with the Greater Houston Partnership      https://bit.ly/HARecooutlook2024   Sign up for Free Industry News Subscriptions for HAR Members here-  https://www.harconnect.com/free-industry-news-subscriptions-for-har-members/   Are you an HAR MLS Platinum Subscriber? Join our Facebook Group! Click to join. Sign Up for your free Real Estate News Subscription here. Sign up for your free Inman Select Subscription here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube , and LinkedIn.

Despite a possible national recession, Houston's economic momentum and outlook remained bullish throughout 2023. As we approach a new year, we welcomed the Greater Houston Partnership's Senior VP of Research, Patrick Jankowski.   Sign up for Free Industry News Subscriptions for HAR Members here-  https://www.harconnect.com/free-industry-news-subscriptions-for-har-members/   Are you an HAR MLS Platinum Subscriber? Join our Facebook Group! Click to join. Sign Up for your free Real Estate News Subscription here. Sign up for your free Inman Select Subscription here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube , and LinkedIn.

On Thursday's show: What will the job market look like in Houston next year? Patrick Jankowski of the Greater Houston Partnership unveils his jobs forecast for 2024. Also: A Houston-area chef shares his thoughts on the impact of the culinary arts training he received here. And we visit a Mexican wrestling event.

Is host Raheel Ramzanali too old for a grill? Pulitzer Prize finalist Evan Mintz gives his opinion on this pressing question to start the show and then the duo jump into the news. From a public condemnation of the DA to a watchdog stepping down for criticizing ERCOT, here are the biggest stories from the week that impacted H-Town. Featured stories: Sean Teare out raises Kim Ogg  Harris County Jail to send inmates to Mississippi  Climate change and evolution in Texas books  Greater Houston Partnership is Low-Carbon Global Energy transition in Houston  Rushmore celebrates 25th anniversary  Houston Democratic Party weighing formal condemnation  Texas grid watchdog steps down Two more In-N-Out locations opening Our episode on Best Burgers  Looking for more Houston news? Then sign up for our morning newsletter Hey Houston  Follow us on Instagram  @CityCastHouston Don't have social media? Then leave us a voicemail or text us at +1 713-489-6972 with your thoughts! Have feedback or a show idea? Let us know!  Interested in advertising with City Cast? Let's Talk! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

提醒您，盡速前往五星級長榮航空官網購買機票。10/22起至11/26止，於長榮航空官網購買2023線上旅展機票，除享有全航線最低72折起優惠外，還可再抽一年全球飛到飽機票。https://go.fstry.me/46YED8c —— 以上為 Firstory DAI 動態廣告 —— ------------------------------- 10/23~10/31 招募訂閱制 創始VIP會員! 創始優惠只有一次 把握機會～ ------------------------------- 通勤學英語VIP訂閱方案：https://open.firstory.me/join/15minstoday VIP會員文章主題許願表單：https://forms.gle/xyHoPydBr6LLFL9q8 ------------------------------- 15Mins.Today 相關連結 ------------------------------- 歡迎針對這一集留言你的想法： 留言連結 主題投稿/意見回覆 : ask15mins@gmail.com 「社會人核心英語」有聲書課程連結：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/554esm 官方網站：www.15mins.today 加入Clubhouse直播室：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/46hm8k 訂閱YouTube頻道：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/3rhuuy 商業合作/贊助來信：15minstoday@gmail.com ------------------------------- 以下有參考逐字稿～ 各播放器有不同字數限制，完整文稿可到官網搜尋 ------------------------------- Topic: Surging shipping rates pose new headwind for the global economy Shocks to supply chains are engulfing a wider swath of the global economy as the pandemic rages on, threatening to stifle Asia's trade-led recovery just as soaring freight rates make it harder for businesses to weather another year like 2020. 疫情肆虐，衝擊供應鏈，全球經濟受創幅度加巨；高昂的運費，讓企業更難再熬過如二○二○年般艱難的一年，以貿易為主導之亞洲經濟，復甦之路恐窒礙難行。 Shortages of consumer goods like paper towels and work-from-home gear early in the COVID-19 crisis have given way to parts shortfalls in one of the most globally integrated of industries: auto manufacturing. 武漢肺炎（新型冠狀病毒病，COVID-19）危機初期的紙巾與在家工作用品等消費品之短缺，已轉為汽車製造業的零件短缺──造車業為全球整合程度最高的工業之一。 Compounding the industrial imbalances are transport woes plaguing consumer and healthcare sectors still dealing with a dearth of available shipping containers to move components and finished products out of China, Taiwan, South Korea and Asia's other export powers. 消費與醫療保健業所面臨之運輸困難，使工業的失衡狀況加劇──由於貨櫃短缺，零組件及製成品很難由中國、台灣、韓國及亞洲其他出口大國運出。 Nerijus Poskus, vice president for global ocean at San Francisco-based freight forwarder Flexport Inc, reckons the world needs the equivalent of 500,000 more 20-foot containers — roughly enough to fill 25 of the largest ships in operation — to satisfy the current demand. In the meantime, standard container rates on transpacific routes are quadruple what they were a year ago. And that is before equipment surcharges and premiums for guaranteed loading are added. 總部設於舊金山的運輸公司「飛協博」全球海洋副總裁奈瑞尤斯‧帕司克斯估計，若要滿足當前需求，全世界需要再增加五十萬個二十呎貨櫃──大約可裝滿二十五艘目前最大的船舶。而且現在跨太平洋航線的標準貨櫃運價是一年前的四倍，這還不包括設備附加費及保證裝載的額外費用。 “Anyone paying the freight bills in 2020 though knows the true cost of shipping is much higher than even the recently increased rates,” Poskus said. “We expect that to only increase in 2021.” 「雖然在二○二○年支付運費的人都知道，真正的運輸成本甚至比最近上漲的運費還要高」，帕司克斯表示。「我們預計在二○二一年只會繼續上漲」。 The unstoppable rise in container shipping costs is borne out by December figures recently announced by Taiwan's three major shipping companies — Evergreen Marine Corp, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp and Wan Hai Lines Ltd — which saw a record-breaking year-on-year surge of revenue at 58.8 percent, 35.19 percent and 75.71 percent respectively. 貨櫃海運運價一路走高，勢不可擋，台灣貨櫃三雄──長榮、陽明、萬海──近日公布二○二○年十二月營收，分別年增百分之五十八點八、百分之三十五點一九、百分之七十五點七一，皆同步創下歷史新高。 Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/01/18/2003750759 Next Article Topic: The world is dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors As China pushes the world to avoid official dealings with Taiwan, leaders across the globe are realizing just how dependent they have become on the island democracy. 中國迫使世界斷絕與台灣的正式往來，此時全球的領導人卻了解到，他們對這民主島國的依賴程度已如此之深。 Taiwan is being courted for its capacity to make leading-edge computer chips. That is mostly down to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest foundry and go-to producer of chips for Apple Inc smartphones, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. 台灣以其製造先進電腦晶片的能力而備受青睞。這主要歸功於台灣積體電路製造公司﹝簡稱台積電﹞。台積電是全球最大的晶圓代工廠，也是蘋果公司智慧型手機、人工智慧及高效能運算晶片的首選製造商。 Taiwan's role in the world economy largely existed below the radar until it came to recent prominence as the auto industry suffered shortfalls in chips used for everything from parking sensors to reducing emissions. With carmakers including Germany's Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co of the US and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp forced to halt production and idle plants, Taiwan's importance has suddenly become too big to ignore. 台灣在世界經濟中的角色大多不為人所注意，直到最近由於汽車工業的晶片短缺（由倒車雷達至減少排放等皆須用到晶片），台灣才成為全世界眾所矚目之地。包括德國福斯汽車、美國福特汽車及日本豐田汽車在內的汽車製造商被迫停止生產、將工廠閒置，台灣的重要性因此也突然變得不可忽視。 That is not to say Taiwan is the only player in the semiconductor supply chain. The US still holds dominant positions, notably in chip design and electronic software tools; ASML Holding NV of the Netherlands has a monopoly on the machines needed to fabricate the best chips; Japan is a key supplier of equipment, chemicals and wafers. 這並不是說台灣是半導體供應鏈中的唯一角色。美國仍居主導地位，特別是在晶片設計和電子軟體工具方面；製造最佳晶片所需之機器是由荷蘭的艾司摩爾所壟斷；日本則是設備、化學品和晶圓的主要供應國。 However, as the emphasis shifts to ever smaller, more powerful chips that require less energy, TSMC is increasingly in a field of its own. It has also helped Taiwan form a comprehensive ecosystem around it: ASE Technology Holding is the world's top chip assembler, while MediaTek has become the largest smartphone chipset vendor. 但是，隨著重點轉移到體積更小、功能更強大且用電更少的晶片上，台積電便愈發自成體系。台積電也幫助台灣建構了一個全面的生態系統，以台積電為中心：日月光是世界頂尖的晶片封測廠，而聯發科技已成為智慧型手機晶片組最大的供應商。 A big worry is that TSMC's chip factories could become collateral damage if China were to make good on threats to invade Taiwan if it moves toward independence. 一大隱憂是，若台灣邁向獨立、中國果真入侵台灣，則台積電晶片廠恐受牽連，成為附帶損害。 “Taiwan is the center of gravity of Chinese security policy,” said Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia program at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. Preserving the world's most advanced fabs “is in the interests of everyone.” 「台灣是中國安全政策的重中之重」，巴黎蒙田研究所亞洲計畫主任杜懋之表示；保護世界上最先進的晶圓廠「符合所有人的利益」。 Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/02/01/2003751534 Next Article Topic: Reinventing Workers for the Post-COVID Economy The nation's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will hinge to some extent on how quickly show managers can become electricians, whether taxi drivers can become plumbers, and how many cooks can manage software for a bank. 美國經濟能否從新冠疫情影響下復甦，將在一定程度上取決於表演經理們要多久才能變成電工，計程車司機能否化身為水管匠，以及有多少廚師能替銀行管理軟體。 This is likely to prove especially problematic for millions of low-paid workers in service industries like retailing, hospitality, building maintenance and transportation, which may be permanently impaired or fundamentally transformed. What will janitors do if fewer people work in offices? What will waiters do if the urban restaurant ecosystem never recovers its density? 這對零售業、餐旅業、建築維修和運輸業等服務業數百萬低薪工人來說，問題恐怕特別大。這些行業可能受到永久性損害或發生根本性改變。若辦公室裡人變少了，工友要做什麼呢？若都市餐廳生態系統繁盛不再，服務生又該如何？ Their prognosis is bleak. Marcela Escobari, an economist at the Brookings Institution, warns that even if the economy adds jobs as the coronavirus risk fades, “the rebound won't help the people that have been hurt the most.” 他們的前景是黯淡的。布魯金斯學會經濟學家艾思科巴里警告說，即使就業機會隨新冠肺炎風險消退而增加，「經濟反彈也幫不了那些受創最重的人」。 Looking back over 16 years of data, Escobari finds that workers in the occupations most heavily hit since the spring will have a difficult time reinventing themselves. Taxi drivers, dancers and front-desk clerks have poor track records moving to jobs as, say, registered nurses, pipe layers or instrumentation technicians. 艾思科巴里檢視16年來的數據發現，今春以來受衝擊最大的一些職業，勞工將很難自我改造。計程車司機、舞者和櫃檯人員轉行從事護理師、舖管工或儀器技工等工作者十分有限。 COVID is abruptly taking out a swath of jobs that were thought to be comparatively resilient, in services that require personal contact with customers. And the jolt has landed squarely on workers with little or no education beyond high school, toiling in the low-wage service economy. 新冠肺炎疾病突然帶走了一大批原本被認為較不容易永久消失的工作，即需與客戶面對面接觸的服務工作。這一衝擊直接打擊到那些僅受過高中教育、在低薪服務經濟區塊中掙扎的勞工。 “The damage to the economy and particularly to workers will probably be longer lasting than we think it is going to be,” said Peter Beard, senior vice president at the Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development group. 經濟發展組織大休士頓商會資深副總裁畢爾德表示：「經濟、尤其是勞工們受害的時間，可能比我們預期的還要更長。」 What's more, he said, COVID will intensify underlying dynamics that were already transforming the workplace. Automation, for one, will most likely accelerate as employers seek to protect their businesses from future pandemics. 他說，更重要的是，新冠肺炎將強化已經在改變職場的潛在動力，自動化即為一例，由於雇主力求讓自己的企業未來不受大疫情影響，自動化極可能加速。 The challenge is not insurmountable. Yet despite scattered success stories, moving millions of workers into new occupations remains an enormous challenge. 這項挑戰並非不能克服。然而，儘管有少數成功的例子，讓數百萬勞工轉業仍是巨大的挑戰。 “We need a New Deal for skills,” said Amit Sevak, president of Revature, a company that hires workers, trains them to use digital tools and helps place them in jobs. “President Roosevelt deployed the massive number of workers unemployed in the Great Depression on projects that created many of the dams and roads and bridges we have. We need something like that.” 雇用勞工後培訓他們使用數位工具，並幫他們找到工作的Revature公司總裁塞瓦克說：「我們需要一項針對職業技能的新政。小羅斯福總統大蕭條時期把大量失業勞工投入工程計畫，興建了我們現在使用的水壩、道路與橋樑。我們需要這樣的東西。」

This week we're kicking off the Fall 2023 Living The Authentic Life Podcast Series with special guest, the honorable Jacquie Baly. Jacquie is a former Greater Houston Partnership vice president who now works in public & media relations—in addition to serving as adjunct professor at the University of Houston and advising Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on higher education initiatives. Jacquie's community service only augments her accomplishments. One of her favorite community endeavors includes chairing the American Cancer Society's 2023 Cattle Baron's Ball with former podcast guest, Lara Bell. Join us in celebrating Houston power women who are out there making a difference in our community and beyond.

------------------------------- 強化英語課程資訊 ------------------------------- 「社會人核心英語」有聲書課程連結：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/554esm ------------------------------- 15Mins.Today 相關連結 ------------------------------- 歡迎針對這一集留言你的想法： 留言連結 官方網站：www.15mins.today 加入Clubhouse直播室：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/46hm8k 訂閱YouTube頻道：https://15minsengcafe.pse.is/3rhuuy 主題投稿/意見回覆 : ask15mins@gmail.com 商業合作/贊助來信：15minstoday@gmail.com ------------------------------- 以下有參考文字稿～ 各播放器有不同字數限制，完整文稿可到官網搜尋 ------------------------------- Topic: Surging shipping rates pose new headwind for the global economy Shocks to supply chains are engulfing a wider swath of the global economy as the pandemic rages on, threatening to stifle Asia's trade-led recovery just as soaring freight rates make it harder for businesses to weather another year like 2020. 疫情肆虐，衝擊供應鏈，全球經濟受創幅度加巨；高昂的運費，讓企業更難再熬過如二○二○年般艱難的一年，以貿易為主導之亞洲經濟，復甦之路恐窒礙難行。 Shortages of consumer goods like paper towels and work-from-home gear early in the COVID-19 crisis have given way to parts shortfalls in one of the most globally integrated of industries: auto manufacturing. 武漢肺炎（新型冠狀病毒病，COVID-19）危機初期的紙巾與在家工作用品等消費品之短缺，已轉為汽車製造業的零件短缺──造車業為全球整合程度最高的工業之一。 Compounding the industrial imbalances are transport woes plaguing consumer and healthcare sectors still dealing with a dearth of available shipping containers to move components and finished products out of China, Taiwan, South Korea and Asia's other export powers. 消費與醫療保健業所面臨之運輸困難，使工業的失衡狀況加劇──由於貨櫃短缺，零組件及製成品很難由中國、台灣、韓國及亞洲其他出口大國運出。 Nerijus Poskus, vice president for global ocean at San Francisco-based freight forwarder Flexport Inc, reckons the world needs the equivalent of 500,000 more 20-foot containers — roughly enough to fill 25 of the largest ships in operation — to satisfy the current demand. In the meantime, standard container rates on transpacific routes are quadruple what they were a year ago. And that is before equipment surcharges and premiums for guaranteed loading are added. 總部設於舊金山的運輸公司「飛協博」全球海洋副總裁奈瑞尤斯‧帕司克斯估計，若要滿足當前需求，全世界需要再增加五十萬個二十呎貨櫃──大約可裝滿二十五艘目前最大的船舶。而且現在跨太平洋航線的標準貨櫃運價是一年前的四倍，這還不包括設備附加費及保證裝載的額外費用。 “Anyone paying the freight bills in 2020 though knows the true cost of shipping is much higher than even the recently increased rates,” Poskus said. “We expect that to only increase in 2021.” 「雖然在二○二○年支付運費的人都知道，真正的運輸成本甚至比最近上漲的運費還要高」，帕司克斯表示。「我們預計在二○二一年只會繼續上漲」。 The unstoppable rise in container shipping costs is borne out by December figures recently announced by Taiwan's three major shipping companies — Evergreen Marine Corp, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp and Wan Hai Lines Ltd — which saw a record-breaking year-on-year surge of revenue at 58.8 percent, 35.19 percent and 75.71 percent respectively. 貨櫃海運運價一路走高，勢不可擋，台灣貨櫃三雄──長榮、陽明、萬海──近日公布二○二○年十二月營收，分別年增百分之五十八點八、百分之三十五點一九、百分之七十五點七一，皆同步創下歷史新高。 Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/01/18/2003750759 Next Article Topic: The world is dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors As China pushes the world to avoid official dealings with Taiwan, leaders across the globe are realizing just how dependent they have become on the island democracy. 中國迫使世界斷絕與台灣的正式往來，此時全球的領導人卻了解到，他們對這民主島國的依賴程度已如此之深。 Taiwan is being courted for its capacity to make leading-edge computer chips. That is mostly down to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest foundry and go-to producer of chips for Apple Inc smartphones, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. 台灣以其製造先進電腦晶片的能力而備受青睞。這主要歸功於台灣積體電路製造公司﹝簡稱台積電﹞。台積電是全球最大的晶圓代工廠，也是蘋果公司智慧型手機、人工智慧及高效能運算晶片的首選製造商。 Taiwan's role in the world economy largely existed below the radar until it came to recent prominence as the auto industry suffered shortfalls in chips used for everything from parking sensors to reducing emissions. With carmakers including Germany's Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co of the US and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp forced to halt production and idle plants, Taiwan's importance has suddenly become too big to ignore. 台灣在世界經濟中的角色大多不為人所注意，直到最近由於汽車工業的晶片短缺（由倒車雷達至減少排放等皆須用到晶片），台灣才成為全世界眾所矚目之地。包括德國福斯汽車、美國福特汽車及日本豐田汽車在內的汽車製造商被迫停止生產、將工廠閒置，台灣的重要性因此也突然變得不可忽視。 That is not to say Taiwan is the only player in the semiconductor supply chain. The US still holds dominant positions, notably in chip design and electronic software tools; ASML Holding NV of the Netherlands has a monopoly on the machines needed to fabricate the best chips; Japan is a key supplier of equipment, chemicals and wafers. 這並不是說台灣是半導體供應鏈中的唯一角色。美國仍居主導地位，特別是在晶片設計和電子軟體工具方面；製造最佳晶片所需之機器是由荷蘭的艾司摩爾所壟斷；日本則是設備、化學品和晶圓的主要供應國。 However, as the emphasis shifts to ever smaller, more powerful chips that require less energy, TSMC is increasingly in a field of its own. It has also helped Taiwan form a comprehensive ecosystem around it: ASE Technology Holding is the world's top chip assembler, while MediaTek has become the largest smartphone chipset vendor. 但是，隨著重點轉移到體積更小、功能更強大且用電更少的晶片上，台積電便愈發自成體系。台積電也幫助台灣建構了一個全面的生態系統，以台積電為中心：日月光是世界頂尖的晶片封測廠，而聯發科技已成為智慧型手機晶片組最大的供應商。 A big worry is that TSMC's chip factories could become collateral damage if China were to make good on threats to invade Taiwan if it moves toward independence. 一大隱憂是，若台灣邁向獨立、中國果真入侵台灣，則台積電晶片廠恐受牽連，成為附帶損害。 “Taiwan is the center of gravity of Chinese security policy,” said Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia program at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. Preserving the world's most advanced fabs “is in the interests of everyone.” 「台灣是中國安全政策的重中之重」，巴黎蒙田研究所亞洲計畫主任杜懋之表示；保護世界上最先進的晶圓廠「符合所有人的利益」。 Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/02/01/2003751534 Next Article Topic: Reinventing Workers for the Post-COVID Economy The nation's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will hinge to some extent on how quickly show managers can become electricians, whether taxi drivers can become plumbers, and how many cooks can manage software for a bank. 美國經濟能否從新冠疫情影響下復甦，將在一定程度上取決於表演經理們要多久才能變成電工，計程車司機能否化身為水管匠，以及有多少廚師能替銀行管理軟體。 This is likely to prove especially problematic for millions of low-paid workers in service industries like retailing, hospitality, building maintenance and transportation, which may be permanently impaired or fundamentally transformed. What will janitors do if fewer people work in offices? What will waiters do if the urban restaurant ecosystem never recovers its density? 這對零售業、餐旅業、建築維修和運輸業等服務業數百萬低薪工人來說，問題恐怕特別大。這些行業可能受到永久性損害或發生根本性改變。若辦公室裡人變少了，工友要做什麼呢？若都市餐廳生態系統繁盛不再，服務生又該如何？ Their prognosis is bleak. Marcela Escobari, an economist at the Brookings Institution, warns that even if the economy adds jobs as the coronavirus risk fades, “the rebound won't help the people that have been hurt the most.” 他們的前景是黯淡的。布魯金斯學會經濟學家艾思科巴里警告說，即使就業機會隨新冠肺炎風險消退而增加，「經濟反彈也幫不了那些受創最重的人」。 Looking back over 16 years of data, Escobari finds that workers in the occupations most heavily hit since the spring will have a difficult time reinventing themselves. Taxi drivers, dancers and front-desk clerks have poor track records moving to jobs as, say, registered nurses, pipe layers or instrumentation technicians. 艾思科巴里檢視16年來的數據發現，今春以來受衝擊最大的一些職業，勞工將很難自我改造。計程車司機、舞者和櫃檯人員轉行從事護理師、舖管工或儀器技工等工作者十分有限。 COVID is abruptly taking out a swath of jobs that were thought to be comparatively resilient, in services that require personal contact with customers. And the jolt has landed squarely on workers with little or no education beyond high school, toiling in the low-wage service economy. 新冠肺炎疾病突然帶走了一大批原本被認為較不容易永久消失的工作，即需與客戶面對面接觸的服務工作。這一衝擊直接打擊到那些僅受過高中教育、在低薪服務經濟區塊中掙扎的勞工。 “The damage to the economy and particularly to workers will probably be longer lasting than we think it is going to be,” said Peter Beard, senior vice president at the Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development group. 經濟發展組織大休士頓商會資深副總裁畢爾德表示：「經濟、尤其是勞工們受害的時間，可能比我們預期的還要更長。」 What's more, he said, COVID will intensify underlying dynamics that were already transforming the workplace. Automation, for one, will most likely accelerate as employers seek to protect their businesses from future pandemics. 他說，更重要的是，新冠肺炎將強化已經在改變職場的潛在動力，自動化即為一例，由於雇主力求讓自己的企業未來不受大疫情影響，自動化極可能加速。 The challenge is not insurmountable. Yet despite scattered success stories, moving millions of workers into new occupations remains an enormous challenge. 這項挑戰並非不能克服。然而，儘管有少數成功的例子，讓數百萬勞工轉業仍是巨大的挑戰。 “We need a New Deal for skills,” said Amit Sevak, president of Revature, a company that hires workers, trains them to use digital tools and helps place them in jobs. “President Roosevelt deployed the massive number of workers unemployed in the Great Depression on projects that created many of the dams and roads and bridges we have. We need something like that.” 雇用勞工後培訓他們使用數位工具，並幫他們找到工作的Revature公司總裁塞瓦克說：「我們需要一項針對職業技能的新政。小羅斯福總統大蕭條時期把大量失業勞工投入工程計畫，興建了我們現在使用的水壩、道路與橋樑。我們需要這樣的東西。」

The Tech-Driven Solar Workflow:Digital Transformation from a Contractor's PerspectiveJoin us on May 31, 2023 @ 2PM EST for a special live production!https://mysuncast.com/the-tech-driven-solar-workflowOn Today's Episode: Houston, often touted as the Energy Capital of the world, is rapidly transforming into the clean energy capital of the United States, spearheading the renewable revolution. In this special Tactical Tuesday, Nico engages in insightful conversations with industry leaders who shed light on the city's transformative initiatives. Jeff Tolnar, President & interim CEO of Shoals Technologies Group, shares his unique perspective on the energy transition, gained from attending the oil and gas-centric conference, CERAWeek, as well as his past experience from previous industries such as telecom and the similarities he sees within Renewables today. They highlight the increasing representation of renewables and the importance of ecosystem thinking in optimizing efficiency across the energy value chain. In the second segment, Nico speaks with Jane Stricker, Senior Vice President, Energy Transition at Greater Houston Partnership & Executive Director, Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), as they unveil the collaborative efforts driving Houston's clean energy transformation. She shares insights into the thriving clean tech startup scene and the city's impressive growth in attracting manufacturing, resources and talent. This Tactical Tuesday explores Houston's rise as the capital of the clean energy transition, showcasing its importance in hosting CERAWeek by S&P Global and the transformative work of HETI. Tune in to discover how Houston is leading the way in the clean energy revolution, why it should be pinned on your map, and how it serves as a blueprint for how other cities can follow suit.To our podcast listeners, I HIGHLY encourage you to watch this episode on YouTube, so that you can walk the CERAWeek show floors with me and see the energy brewing at the conference. If you want to connect with today's guest(s), you'll find links to their contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.SunCast is presented by Sungrow, the world's most bankable inverter brand.You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.mysuncast.com/sponsors.Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today's guest(s) and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 601 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeoLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

On Friday's show: We discuss the Greater Houston Partnership's annual report about our region's connections to the global economy, from exports, to imports, to foreign investment here. Also this hour: Former Houston Rocket Kenny Smith discusses his new memoir, Talk of Champions: Stories of the People Who Made Me. Then, from a driverless ride-hailing service coming to Houston, to a large load of illegally dumped pasta, we discuss The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week. And DaCamera hosts jazz drummer and Houston native Kendrick Scott in a performance tonight of his production Unearthed, about the Sugar Land 95, the Black men used in convict leasing whose unmarked graves were discovered in 2018.

On Monday at Houston House, a SXSW activation put on by the Greater Houston Partnership, InnovationMap editor and Houston Innovators Podcast host Natalie Harms moderated a panel called “Demystifying the Startup Journey.” Panelists included three Houston founders: Ted Gutierrez, co-founder and CEO of SecurityGate.io, Simone May, co-founder and CTO of Clutch, and Gaurav Khandelwal, founder and CEO of Velostics. The three entrepreneurs discussed their journeys and the challenges they face — from product/market fit and hiring to fundraising and customer acquisition. Listen to the full conversation on this week's episode. Thank you to SXSW and GHP for the recording

Susan Davenport is the senior vice president and chief economic development officer for the Greater Houston Partnership, which has two activations at major conferences. Currently, the GHP's Houston Energy Transition Initiative, or HETI, is hosting its HETI House at CERAWeek, and later today, March 8, will feature a startup pitch competition. Next week, on Monday, March 13, the GHP returns its Houston House to SXSW to host a whole day of thought leadership from Houston innovators. Susan shares more about these activations and also speaks to the role the GHP has played for the developing Houston's innovation ecosystem, as well as what's next for that relationship. 

This week we had the pleasure of co-hosting a panel and live town hall style discussion with our good friends from Vinson & Elkins featuring the recent work of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (or “HETI”). It was exciting to bring the community together and have a live, studio audience to discuss the opportunities and challenges for Houston to serve as the capital of the energy transition. We had the honor of hosting Bobby Tudor, my former partner, CEO of Artemis Energy Partners, and previous Chair of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP), Jane Stricker, Executive Director of HETI and Sarah Morgan, Co-Head of M&A and Capital Markets at Vinson & Elkins. While it was a Houston-focused discussion, the conversation more broadly focused on the role of classic energy producers and industrial users in the changes to come, and most certainly the things every energy and industrial community can focus on in preparing for the energy future.    The catalyst to our discussion was a report that the Greater Houston Partnership released late last year, “Perspective on The Energy Transition Capital of The World: Houston's Opportunity to Win by Catalyzing Capital Formation” (the report is linked here). Bobby laid the groundwork for our discussion with background on the GHP and the formation of HETI, and from there we touched on Houston's ecosystem around the energy transition, the concentration of energy capital in the city and the financial community's critical involvement going forward, getting solid and interlocking contracts completed and how that will help get more money to work, and working with non-traditional financing structures to facilitate new technologies. We also discussed the role for Houston's traditional oil and gas companies, noting that the biggest investment dollars on energy transition have been coming from the incumbent energy industry, HETI's partnerships with local and state universities and the focus on developing talent and the workforce broadly, the thorny permitting process and how “primacy” will be critical for maintaining a competitive advantage and simply getting things done, and more. Bobby summed it up well by saying “we are the laboratory for the energy transition” given the unique combination of Houston's infrastructure, it's industrial base, it's local energy and related companies, it's engineering talent and overall workforce, its pro-business attitude, physical location, and nearby geology for CCUS.  At some level, this episode was all about what Houston looks like in 10 years. And forgive us for saying so, but what Houston does and how it adapts will be pivotal to how the nation as a whole and certainly the oil and gas industry adapts. We can't thank the team enough for a great discussion!   Thank you again to our friends at Vinson & Elkins for co-hosting and to the great crowd who turned out and asked some excellent questions. We hope you enjoy this Special Edition COBT! 

On Wednesday's show: Some recent numbers suggest Greater Houston's GDP grew at a significantly lower rate than the rest of the nation. Some suggest this slow economic growth is due to the region's reliance on the oil and gas industry, which performed poorly in 2021. Does this information fly in the face of the notion that Houston's economy is better diversified than years past? A local economic researcher puts the data in context. Also this hour: We discuss the latest developments in politics in our weekly roundup. Then, we continue our series looking ahead to some of the stories expected to make news in different realms of Houston life – from politics, to the environment, to health care. Today, we continue with a look ahead at the education stories likely to make news with the help of News 88.7 reporter Dominic Anthony Walsh. And artist Eileen Maxson casts items from her parents' flooded home as art in her exhibit, The Word Is Not Lucky, which is on display at the Galveston Arts Center through Feb. 5.

Bobby Tudor is a former professional basketball playler, investment banker and leader in the energy industry. He is currently CEO of the investment bank Artemis Energy Partners and is chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative of the Greater Houston Partnership. He was the founder and CEO of THP (Tudor, Pickering, Holt, & Co.). Prior to forming TPH, he was a Partner at Goldman Sachs and a leader of its worldwide energy practice. Bobby received a degree in English and Legal Studies from Rice University and his law degree from Tulane. He now serves on the Rice University Board of Trustees. Bobby Tudor is a 1981 alumnus of TFAS's Public Policy and Economics program in Washington, D.C. In this week's Liberty and Leadership Podcast, Roger and Bobby discuss the lessons he learned playing college basketball at Rice University, putting his law degree to work at Goldman Sachs, channeling his entrepreneurial spirit into founding numerous companies, the positive elements of investment banking, and how building a culture of success is critical for any organization. The Liberty and Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS President Roger Ream and produced by kglobal. If you have a comment or question for the show, please drop us an email at podcast@TFAS.org.Support the show

歡迎留言告訴我們你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/user/cl81kivnk00dn01wffhwxdg2s/comments Topic: Surging shipping rates pose new headwind for the global economy Shocks to supply chains are engulfing a wider swath of the global economy as the pandemic rages on, threatening to stifle Asia's trade-led recovery just as soaring freight rates make it harder for businesses to weather another year like 2020. 疫情肆虐，衝擊供應鏈，全球經濟受創幅度加巨；高昂的運費，讓企業更難再熬過如二○二○年般艱難的一年，以貿易為主導之亞洲經濟，復甦之路恐窒礙難行。 Shortages of consumer goods like paper towels and work-from-home gear early in the COVID-19 crisis have given way to parts shortfalls in one of the most globally integrated of industries: auto manufacturing. 武漢肺炎（新型冠狀病毒病，COVID-19）危機初期的紙巾與在家工作用品等消費品之短缺，已轉為汽車製造業的零件短缺──造車業為全球整合程度最高的工業之一。 Compounding the industrial imbalances are transport woes plaguing consumer and healthcare sectors still dealing with a dearth of available shipping containers to move components and finished products out of China, Taiwan, South Korea and Asia's other export powers. 消費與醫療保健業所面臨之運輸困難，使工業的失衡狀況加劇──由於貨櫃短缺，零組件及製成品很難由中國、台灣、韓國及亞洲其他出口大國運出。 Nerijus Poskus, vice president for global ocean at San Francisco-based freight forwarder Flexport Inc, reckons the world needs the equivalent of 500,000 more 20-foot containers — roughly enough to fill 25 of the largest ships in operation — to satisfy the current demand. In the meantime, standard container rates on transpacific routes are quadruple what they were a year ago. And that is before equipment surcharges and premiums for guaranteed loading are added. 總部設於舊金山的運輸公司「飛協博」全球海洋副總裁奈瑞尤斯‧帕司克斯估計，若要滿足當前需求，全世界需要再增加五十萬個二十呎貨櫃──大約可裝滿二十五艘目前最大的船舶。而且現在跨太平洋航線的標準貨櫃運價是一年前的四倍，這還不包括設備附加費及保證裝載的額外費用。 “Anyone paying the freight bills in 2020 though knows the true cost of shipping is much higher than even the recently increased rates,” Poskus said. “We expect that to only increase in 2021.” 「雖然在二○二○年支付運費的人都知道，真正的運輸成本甚至比最近上漲的運費還要高」，帕司克斯表示。「我們預計在二○二一年只會繼續上漲」。 The unstoppable rise in container shipping costs is borne out by December figures recently announced by Taiwan's three major shipping companies — Evergreen Marine Corp, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp and Wan Hai Lines Ltd — which saw a record-breaking year-on-year surge of revenue at 58.8 percent, 35.19 percent and 75.71 percent respectively. 貨櫃海運運價一路走高，勢不可擋，台灣貨櫃三雄──長榮、陽明、萬海──近日公布二○二○年十二月營收，分別年增百分之五十八點八、百分之三十五點一九、百分之七十五點七一，皆同步創下歷史新高。 Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/01/18/2003750759 Next Article Topic: The world is dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors As China pushes the world to avoid official dealings with Taiwan, leaders across the globe are realizing just how dependent they have become on the island democracy. 中國迫使世界斷絕與台灣的正式往來，此時全球的領導人卻了解到，他們對這民主島國的依賴程度已如此之深。 Taiwan is being courted for its capacity to make leading-edge computer chips. That is mostly down to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest foundry and go-to producer of chips for Apple Inc smartphones, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. 台灣以其製造先進電腦晶片的能力而備受青睞。這主要歸功於台灣積體電路製造公司﹝簡稱台積電﹞。台積電是全球最大的晶圓代工廠，也是蘋果公司智慧型手機、人工智慧及高效能運算晶片的首選製造商。 Taiwan's role in the world economy largely existed below the radar until it came to recent prominence as the auto industry suffered shortfalls in chips used for everything from parking sensors to reducing emissions. With carmakers including Germany's Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co of the US and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp forced to halt production and idle plants, Taiwan's importance has suddenly become too big to ignore. 台灣在世界經濟中的角色大多不為人所注意，直到最近由於汽車工業的晶片短缺（由倒車雷達至減少排放等皆須用到晶片），台灣才成為全世界眾所矚目之地。包括德國福斯汽車、美國福特汽車及日本豐田汽車在內的汽車製造商被迫停止生產、將工廠閒置，台灣的重要性因此也突然變得不可忽視。 That is not to say Taiwan is the only player in the semiconductor supply chain. The US still holds dominant positions, notably in chip design and electronic software tools; ASML Holding NV of the Netherlands has a monopoly on the machines needed to fabricate the best chips; Japan is a key supplier of equipment, chemicals and wafers. 這並不是說台灣是半導體供應鏈中的唯一角色。美國仍居主導地位，特別是在晶片設計和電子軟體工具方面；製造最佳晶片所需之機器是由荷蘭的艾司摩爾所壟斷；日本則是設備、化學品和晶圓的主要供應國。 However, as the emphasis shifts to ever smaller, more powerful chips that require less energy, TSMC is increasingly in a field of its own. It has also helped Taiwan form a comprehensive ecosystem around it: ASE Technology Holding is the world's top chip assembler, while MediaTek has become the largest smartphone chipset vendor. 但是，隨著重點轉移到體積更小、功能更強大且用電更少的晶片上，台積電便愈發自成體系。台積電也幫助台灣建構了一個全面的生態系統，以台積電為中心：日月光是世界頂尖的晶片封測廠，而聯發科技已成為智慧型手機晶片組最大的供應商。 A big worry is that TSMC's chip factories could become collateral damage if China were to make good on threats to invade Taiwan if it moves toward independence. 一大隱憂是，若台灣邁向獨立、中國果真入侵台灣，則台積電晶片廠恐受牽連，成為附帶損害。 “Taiwan is the center of gravity of Chinese security policy,” said Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia program at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. Preserving the world's most advanced fabs “is in the interests of everyone.” 「台灣是中國安全政策的重中之重」，巴黎蒙田研究所亞洲計畫主任杜懋之表示；保護世界上最先進的晶圓廠「符合所有人的利益」。 Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/02/01/2003751534 Next Article Topic: Reinventing Workers for the Post-COVID Economy The nation's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will hinge to some extent on how quickly show managers can become electricians, whether taxi drivers can become plumbers, and how many cooks can manage software for a bank. 美國經濟能否從新冠疫情影響下復甦，將在一定程度上取決於表演經理們要多久才能變成電工，計程車司機能否化身為水管匠，以及有多少廚師能替銀行管理軟體。 This is likely to prove especially problematic for millions of low-paid workers in service industries like retailing, hospitality, building maintenance and transportation, which may be permanently impaired or fundamentally transformed. What will janitors do if fewer people work in offices? What will waiters do if the urban restaurant ecosystem never recovers its density? 這對零售業、餐旅業、建築維修和運輸業等服務業數百萬低薪工人來說，問題恐怕特別大。這些行業可能受到永久性損害或發生根本性改變。若辦公室裡人變少了，工友要做什麼呢？若都市餐廳生態系統繁盛不再，服務生又該如何？ Their prognosis is bleak. Marcela Escobari, an economist at the Brookings Institution, warns that even if the economy adds jobs as the coronavirus risk fades, “the rebound won't help the people that have been hurt the most.” 他們的前景是黯淡的。布魯金斯學會經濟學家艾思科巴里警告說，即使就業機會隨新冠肺炎風險消退而增加，「經濟反彈也幫不了那些受創最重的人」。 Looking back over 16 years of data, Escobari finds that workers in the occupations most heavily hit since the spring will have a difficult time reinventing themselves. Taxi drivers, dancers and front-desk clerks have poor track records moving to jobs as, say, registered nurses, pipe layers or instrumentation technicians. 艾思科巴里檢視16年來的數據發現，今春以來受衝擊最大的一些職業，勞工將很難自我改造。計程車司機、舞者和櫃檯人員轉行從事護理師、舖管工或儀器技工等工作者十分有限。 COVID is abruptly taking out a swath of jobs that were thought to be comparatively resilient, in services that require personal contact with customers. And the jolt has landed squarely on workers with little or no education beyond high school, toiling in the low-wage service economy. 新冠肺炎疾病突然帶走了一大批原本被認為較不容易永久消失的工作，即需與客戶面對面接觸的服務工作。這一衝擊直接打擊到那些僅受過高中教育、在低薪服務經濟區塊中掙扎的勞工。 “The damage to the economy and particularly to workers will probably be longer lasting than we think it is going to be,” said Peter Beard, senior vice president at the Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development group. 經濟發展組織大休士頓商會資深副總裁畢爾德表示：「經濟、尤其是勞工們受害的時間，可能比我們預期的還要更長。」 What's more, he said, COVID will intensify underlying dynamics that were already transforming the workplace. Automation, for one, will most likely accelerate as employers seek to protect their businesses from future pandemics. 他說，更重要的是，新冠肺炎將強化已經在改變職場的潛在動力，自動化即為一例，由於雇主力求讓自己的企業未來不受大疫情影響，自動化極可能加速。 The challenge is not insurmountable. Yet despite scattered success stories, moving millions of workers into new occupations remains an enormous challenge. 這項挑戰並非不能克服。然而，儘管有少數成功的例子，讓數百萬勞工轉業仍是巨大的挑戰。 “We need a New Deal for skills,” said Amit Sevak, president of Revature, a company that hires workers, trains them to use digital tools and helps place them in jobs. “President Roosevelt deployed the massive number of workers unemployed in the Great Depression on projects that created many of the dams and roads and bridges we have. We need something like that.” 雇用勞工後培訓他們使用數位工具，並幫他們找到工作的Revature公司總裁塞瓦克說：「我們需要一項針對職業技能的新政。小羅斯福總統大蕭條時期把大量失業勞工投入工程計畫，興建了我們現在使用的水壩、道路與橋樑。我們需要這樣的東西。」 Powered by Firstory Hosting

On Friday's show: The Greater Houston Partnership outlines Houston's economic forecast for 2023. Also this hour: We discuss the challenges people face getting jobs once they're released from prison. Then, we break down The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week. And What-A-Christmas, a new one-woman show at The Alley Theatre, is a take on A Christmas Carol set in a fast food restaurant similar to a certain orange-themed Texas chain.

In this episode of The Future of, Jane Stricker, Executive Director of Houston Energy Transition Initiative and SVP of Energy Transition for Greater Houston Partnership, joins Jeff to discuss the transition towards clean energy to meet the zero net emission goal of 2050. Jane shares her insight on the challenges and the new opportunities driving this journey.

LISTEN NOW!! Jane Stricker is the Senior VP, Energy Transition and Executive Director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative,She leads a coalition of industry, academia and community partners to ensure the long-term economic competitiveness and advancement of the Houston region towards a more sustainable and net-zero emissions future.Jane holds a bachelor's degree. from University of Maryland and an MBA from Loyola University in Chicago. She spent over 20 years at BP working in several leadership roles prior to being in her current role. She is a National bronze medalist in cycling, a hobby turn passion she picked up in her transformation journey. Jane didn't go straight to college, within her first year she didn't think school was for her and instead took the route to work in retail. She talks about how this allowed her the time she needed in order to figure out what she wanted to do with her life before pursuing a degree. Little did she know her career in retail would take her down a path she would have never imagined. After graduating college she went back to retail at JCPenney, eventually taking a District Manager role at London Fog. During this time she faced one of the hardest moments in her career, bankruptcy. She walks us through the nine months she spent managing the financial crisis at the company. You might wonder how someone in retail ends up in oil and gas? Jane walks us through her journey in the oil and gas industry, which all started from an ad in the Baltimore newspaper looking for people at Amaco. Jane's retail background fit the need they were looking for in the retail space - gas stations. Jane sheds light on how important the retail part of oil and gas can be and why being dual focused as a retailer and producer can be difficult.Jane spent 16 years at BP, she talks about how Macanado impacted her both professionally and emotionally. It was difficult for her to navigate through the challenge while seeing all the amazing people working on finding a solution and the media demonizing it. This was the first time she experienced how critical her role was in the company. This experience pushed her to become more involved in the energy transition space, to help solve the problems and find the solutions for the industry. We dive into Jane's weight loss journey and what sparked it. We can all relate to Jane's stress that she endured in her career and the pressure she put on herself as the primary source of income. It's truly inspiring to hear her talk about how she stopped smoking and put her health first. Making these changes created a ripple effect throughout her life and she made it to the World Championships in Cycling! Come hang out with us:Download on Apple Podcast——>> ClickDownload on Spotify———>>ClickConnect with Maisy and Jamie:Connect with Massiel Diez: Instagram | LinkedInConnect with Jamie Elrod: Instagram | LinkedInFollow FTB on Instagram | LinkedInJoin FTB NationIf your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com To find out more about our mid-roll audio sponsor TechnipFMC please visit: TechnipFMCTo find out more about our pre-roll audio sponsor Varel Energy Solutions please visit: Varel EnergyTo find out more about website sponsor Nextier Energy Solutions please visit: Nextier Oilfield Solutions

Space really is the final frontier. Since Star Trek first crossed TV screens in 1966, we have believed that humanity's destiny lies among the stars. And in the third decade of the third millennium, we are closer to that dream than ever before. Today, after decades of imagining the future, enterprising companies in partnership with governments are putting into place the practical foundations and critical components of a thriving space economy reaching from LEO to cislunar space. This podcast series will bring you the voices of some of these amazing partners on the journey to the final frontier. The fourth episode features a conversation with Melissa Thorpe, MSc, Head of Spaceport Cornwall and Kevin Tipton, Senior Director, Aerospace and Aviation at the Greater Houston Partnership. Melissa Thorpe oversees the entire Spaceport Cornwall project, guiding the team to a successful satellite launch in 2022 from Cornwall Airport Newquay. Together with launch partner, Virgin Orbit, this ambitious project will offer dedicated and responsible access to space. She works across the launch environment to efficiently secure investment, regulations and the infrastructure required to launch, whilst communicating the space story to the local community. She has featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC World News and The Independent. Kevin Tipton joined the Greater Houston Partnership (the Partnership) Economic Development Division in March 2022 as the Sr. Director, Aerospace and Aviation. The Partnership serves a 12-county region that includes NASA's Johnson Space Center, two award-winning international airports, a world-class urban Spaceport, 35 plus municipal airports, and approximately 500 aerospace and aviation-related organizations. He manages the organization's domestic and international economic development efforts in the aerospace and aviation industry. He assists companies considering expanding, relocating, or investing in the greater Houston region.

Paul is a founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital. He has extensive M&A experience, decades of diverse public company board service, and proven management ability. Mr. Hobby's sector expertise ranges from network infrastructure to downstream energy (both renewable and traditional gas fired) to media and telecom. His executive roles over time include Columbine JDS Systems, which became the world's largest provider of back-office media software, CEO of Alpheus Communications, which built out the largest alternative fiber optic network in Texas, and CEO of Texas Monthly, expanding the print media brand to include podcasts, social media, a national alliance with Creative Artists Agency, and syndicating content through new channels that include Apple News, Flipboard, Pocket, Random House, Google News, Audm and Trip Advisor. Paul has served as the Chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Texas General Services Commission and the Texas Business Hall of Fame. Paul holds a BA in History from the University of Virginia and a JD from the University of Texas Law School. Paul serves on the Management and Investment Committee of GP Capital.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year or so, you've probably heard about all the money that's either already been deployed or is on its way toward funding the energy transition.  When there are billions and billions in play, it's not surprising that groups are coming together to lure capital to not only certain technologies, but also certain geographic regions. Jane Stricker is the SVP for Energy Transition at the Greater Houston Partnership. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative. Jane and the team at HETI recently released a report from their capital formation working group, which includes some big time banks and investment firms – we're talking Blackstone, Bank of America, Citigourp, EnCap, JP Morgan and more. The report is all about capital formation and what it will take to turn Houston – yes, Houston, which of course has a long history in oil and gas – into THE destination for climate capital to fund the energy transition.More resourcesHETI's Capital Formation WhitepaperHETI's Energy Transition StrategyLearn more about the H2Houston HubEDF Renewables Energy innovation for the next generationSign up for the Renewable Energy SmartBriefFollow the show on Twitter @RenewablesPod

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year or so, you've probably heard about all the money that's either already been deployed or is on its way toward funding the energy transition.  When there are billions and billions in play, it's not surprising that groups are coming together to lure capital to not only certain technologies, but also certain geographic regions.  Jane Stricker is the SVP for Energy Transition at the Greater Houston Partnership. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative. Jane and the team at HETI recently released a report from their capital formation working group, which includes some big time banks and investment firms – we're talking Blackstone, Bank of America, Citigourp, EnCap, JP Morgan and more. The report is all about capital formation and what it will take to turn Houston – yes, Houston, which of course has a long history in oil and gas – into THE destination for climate capital to fund the energy transition. More resourcesHETI's Capital Formation WhitepaperHETI's Energy Transition StrategyLearn more about the H2Houston HubMFS Investment Management Do more than survive. See how we strive to make the most of changing bond markets.Sign up for Modern Money SmartBriefFollow this show on Twitter @ModernMoneyPod

On Monday's show: Houston joins with much of the world as we observe Great Britain's funeral for its late Queen. Also: Katy ISD is no longer blocking websites serving LGBTQ+ youth after complaints from students and activists. Also this hour: We learned Friday that a second 14 year old has died from injuries sustained in a car crash in Galveston on September 2. The other driver had just been released from serving part of his sentence for a third DWI conviction. We discuss whether drunk driving laws in Texas are too lenient and whether there are better ways to deal with repeat offenders. Then Patrick Jankowski of The Greater Houston Partnership helps us examine how the nationwide labor shortage is affecting our region.   And we talk with sports writer and podcaster Jeff Balke about some recent high-profile athletes announcing their retirement and how they know when it's time to do so.

It's been 60 years since the Rice Stadium speech when John F. Kennedy announced the creation of NASA. And, it's been more than 50 years since Houston was the first word ever spoken on the moon. Today, we wonder: is Houston still “Space city?” Lisa Gray speaks with David Alexander, Director of The Rice Space Institute and Chair of the Greater Houston Partnership's Aerospace Committee, about Houston's space-going past – and its space-going future. Want more Houston news? Make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here! Also, you should tag us on Instagram... Go Here! We're on Twitter! Follow at @CityCastHouston You can also leave us a voicemail (or text us) at +1 713-489-6972 with thoughts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jeff, Jeff, and Matt discuss: Actively engaging God in all you do. Listening when God directs you in your life. Learning to be present and embracing the moments of life. Business as a mission, making an impact, and living well.   Key Takeaways: You do not need to be like everyone else. Be willing to be different and unapologetically you. God is the author of your story, not you. He is in control of your life, we only think we have control.  What you believe is important, but how you implement that belief is more so. You can make an impact where you are in business and glorify God in the process. You do not need to have mission and business as two separate aspects of your life.   "I think it just behooves all of us to really see Christ above all, and put our identity in Him and Him alone." —  Matt Morris About Matt Morris: Matthew (Matt) Morris is an active board member, advisor, and investor with industry expertise in the Real Estate, Financial Services, and Technology sectors. From 2011 through 2020, Matt served as the President and CEO of Stewart Information Services Corporation after joining the company in 2004. Matt currently serves on the public board of Stewart (STC), the Cornerstone Funds (CLM and CRF), and Stabilis Solutions (SLNG). In addition to his board service, Matt is the Founder and CEO of Lutroco, LLC, a private investment and advisory firm engaging purpose-driven entrepreneurs for growth and impact.Prior to his time at Stewart, Matt served as the COO and Managing Director for Marturion, a strategic consulting practice, and prior to that as the Director of Passion Conferences and Metro Ministries. Matt received his BBA in Organizational Behavior and Business Policy from Southern Methodist University and his MBA from the University of Texas with a concentration in Finance. Matt is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, The C Club of Houston, and the CEO Forum. He has also served in board roles for non-profits including the Greater Houston Partnership, Houston Baptist University, Homes for Hope, and the National Christian Foundation, Houston. Matt and his wife Melissa have been blessed with four boys and reside in Houston, Texas.   Connect with Matt Morris:Website: https://lutroco.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-morris-9a1b124/ Connect with Jeff Thomas: Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-upEmail: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisorsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/

On this episode of HAR On The Move, we discussed the local and national economy with Patrick Jankowski, Senior VP of Research for the Greater Houston Partnership. Watch the replay now to hear his economic outlook and its effect on the real estate market. See Patrick's Slides here. Are you an HAR MLS Platinum Subscriber? Join our Facebook Group! Click to join. Sign up for your free Inman Select Subscription here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

On Thursday's show: Increased flooding across the country is exposing more people to industrial waste, especially those in minority communities, according to new research from Rice University. And the problem is expected to get worse. Also this hour: How big an impact do minority-owned businesses have on the Greater Houston economy? A recent report from the Greater Houston Partnership takes a closer look. Then, former prisoner Brandon Warren of Lee College explains why it's important to educate the incarcerated -- even if they're never going to get out. And he tells how he went from incarcerated to earning a doctorate. And we talk with teacher Roshunda Jones-Koumba, who teaches at George Washington Carver H.S. in Aldine ISD. She was recently honored at the Tony Awards for her work supporting students pursuing careers in the arts and other fields.

There's folks who tout the Energy Transition and then there's Jane Stricker. The 20-year BP vet spent the last 15 years of her time with the Oil and Gas giant in Houston before retiring and taking a role leading the Energy Transition charge for the Greater Houston Partnership in January. In the six months since all she's done is lead the comprehensive effort to establish Houston as not just an oil and gas town - but the premier destination for all things Energy Transition - not just in the US but the globe. In our episode, Jane shares the challenges Houston faces yet discusses the headway the Bayou City continues to make, the importance of the second Forum for Global Energy taking place June 28-30 and why Houston has to be a hub for clean energy investment, workforce development and more. It's a great listen from a professional who has seen several sides of the Energy Transition and is dedicated to making sure all hands are on deck to position Houston as the true Energy Capital of the World.

Chuck chats with Jane about energy transition and why Houston's the best place to business. Added bonus: Jane was in charge of and discusses compliance for BP under their settlement for Macondo.

Guest, Mila Golovine Graduate of the first class of the University of Houston (UH) Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE) at Bauer College of Business, Ludmila (Mila) Rusakova Golovine, years later, runs the global language solutions company she presented in her class business plan and then started in 1993.  She has grown MasterWord into a world-ranked Top 50 multi-million-dollar company that delivers language access and enables success of international organizations, projects, and initiatives in over 400+ languages. Golovine, who speaks Russian, French and English, is the driving force behind MasterWord's mission to Connect People Across Language and Culture.  She is respected nationally and internationally for her innovative management processes and industry-leading client solutions.  As a professional translator, interpreter and business leader, she has guided MasterWord's scope and capabilities, understanding the complexities of the global marketplace and providing her teams the tools to hone razor-sharp plans of action that generate successful results. She excels at providing clients innovative solutions based on creative thinking, strategic planning, the latest in technology and doing business with heart. After graduating with a double major in Finance and Marketing from UH Bauer College, Golovine completed her Masters coursework in Entrepreneurship at the UH Wolff Center, where she continues to participate as a mentor and guest lecturer. She was recognized with the Outstanding Young Alumni of UH Award in 1997 and decades later featured as a most prominent alumnus of the UH Bauer College in the Bloomberg Business Week profile. In 2014 she was the first WCE alum to endow a scholarship at her alma mater and in 2014 and 2015 achieved the Houston Business Journal (HBJ) “Cougar 100” for Top 100 UH Alumni businesses. Her work has been recognized by the following awards and rankings: HBJ Outstanding CEO of a Medium-Sized Company (2017); EY Entrepreneur of the Year Gulf Coast Area Finalist (2017); Enterprising Women magazine “Enterprising Women of the Year” (2016), Certificate of Congressional Recognition G7 “Excellence in International Service award (2015), Houston Woman magazine “Savvy Sister Award” (2013), “Houston's 50 Most Influential Women of 2017” Houston Woman Magazine, “Top 100 Women Owned Businesses” in Texas and “Top 500 Women-Owned Businesses” in the U.S. (DiversityBusiness.com), one of “15 Largest Language Services Providers in North America” and one of “50 Largest Language Services Providers Worldwide” (Common Sense Advisory). Throughout her career Golovine has prioritized community service by heading initiatives and generating support for Friends of Integrative Medicine at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Greater Houston Partnership, Jung Center – Houston, Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research and Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators (founding member). She serves on the Board of the Rothko Chapel, Advisory Board for the Mind, Body, Spirit Institute of the Jung Center, chairs the Advisory Subcommittee for the Translation and Interpretation Program at the Houston Community College, is the Chapter Manager for the Texas Chapter of Women in Localization and a member of the International Women's Forum, Charter 100, and Women's Business Enterprise Alliance. Golovine contributes to the arts and fields of mindful leadership, multicultural workplaces, entrepreneurship and social justice/human trafficking as a patron, speaker and writer for UH Bauer College, The Entrepreneurship Institute Presidents' Forum, national and local professional interpreter & translator associations, among others, and as a member of the National Speakers Associatio

  On Friday's show: The pandemic had devastating effects on the global economy in 2020 as things shut down. So, why was 2021 so much better for Houston's transactions with the rest of the world? A new report from the Greater Houston Partnership takes a closer look. Also this hour: We learn about some plans to restore natural prairie and grasslands around town and the benefits that could ensue. Then, we break down The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week. And we learn how much bees have influenced human design and construction as higlighted in a new exhibition called The Architecture of Bees.

With record-breaking home prices, rising interest rates and murmurs of a looming recession, we look to Patrick Jankowski, Senior VP of Research for the Greater Houston Partnership to hear his perspective on the local economic implications.  See Patrick's population growth slides here. Learn more about Houston's Economic Outlook here.

Laura leads the residential arm of Lakewood Ranch, the nation's top-selling multigenerational community in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. She oversees a 16,000-lot residential portfolio under active development by 20 builders with 2,000+ annual home sales. Laura also directs marketing efforts for LWR Commercial and the Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club. Before Lakewood Ranch, she was vice president of marketing for Willowsford, a 4,000-acre “agri-hood” community in Northern Virginia. From 2002 to 2007 Laura served as vice president of corporate development for RCLCO in Washington, DC, and before that, held positions with the Urban Land Institute, Greater Houston Partnership, and IBM/CB Commercial.In today's episode, Laura Cole, Senior Vice President Lakewood Ranch Communities, LLC, shares her journey into real estate and the top 3 trends she's seeing as a result of the pandemic.Memorable moments:11:07: I love the idea of “I haven't been here before”. But let's draw from what we know, or try to find some analogues that that even come close to this.12:32 I like thinking long term and you have too in these communities because we won't have homes on the ground for potentially five years. So you better be betting on the right market segment for when that's going to arrive in five years. We are being really tactical and I like the challenge of that.13:46: The biggest thing right now that we're confronting is the growing caution by the consumer tied specifically to pricing.15:09: People are looking not only to come to Florida because of the tax advantages and the quality of life, but there's a perception that living in a masterplan community creates an additional layer of security.15:36 The nuclear family is moving with their extended family. We're seeing these multi-generational moves. One family moving here becomes three or four. They've determined that this is the place where they want to put roots down and it's really rewarding to know that this is a place they want to call home.28:19 The development industry is particularly well suited for women because everything we do is multidisciplinary. We're good at multitasking and being able to bring in a lot of different facets into account in our decision making.29:36: I always feel like in our industry that being yourself pays huge dividends…Be yourself and add value.Connect with Nancy:Instagram: https://instagram.com/nancysurakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancysurak/Website: www.nancysurak.comConnect with Laura:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-cole-8158526/Website: https://lakewoodranch.comLaura's Book Recommendation:A Land Remembered https://amzn.to/3OAbMyu via @amazonShe's WILD Sound Production by:Luke Surak, Surak Productions: surakproductions@gmail.com

Gina is a founding partner of GP Capital. Gina founded Luna Strategies in 2016, where she counseled companies and their leaders on complex strategic issues and growth initiatives. She also serves on the board of public and privately held companies. Prior to founding Luna Strategies, Gina held senior executive roles with JPMorgan Chase during her 22-year career at the company. Most recently, she served as Chairman of the Houston Market and Managing Director of Chase Commercial Banking. Gina is a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Houston Branch, and St. Luke's Health System. She also serves as a trustee of The Texas A&M Foundation. The Welch Foundation. The Welch Institute for Advance Materials and Baylor College of Medicine. She was elected chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership in 2015 and continues to serve on the board and executive committee. She was the founding chairman of Houston Exponential and serves as a senior advisor to HX Venture Fund. Gina is a summa cum laude graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance and management. Gina serves on the Management and Investment Committee of GP Capital.

This week Dorian & Jake sit down with Christian Bionat with Greater Houston Partnership. Christian talks about his career in politics and his current role at Greater Houston Partnership. Creating Community with Dorian and Jake is produced by 1820 Marketing and hosted by Dorian Strickland and Jake Starkey. Once again, we'd like to thank our sponsors of the show, the Alvin-Manvel Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsor ZOMADD Boutique. Thank you to the Pearland Chamber of Commerce for allowing us to record this episode from your offices. To learn more about the Chamber visit PearlandChamber.org. If you'd like to contact Christian Bionat, you can do so using the links below. Personal Facebook: @Christian.Bionat LinkedIn: @Christian-Bionat Greater Houston Partnership: Houston.org

Houston innovators have flocked to SXSW in droves and some with the sole purpose of participating in Houston House, an activation set up by the Greater Houston Partnership to showcase tech and startups from Houston. Natalie Harms, editor of InnovationMap, spoke to four Houstonians after their discussions to dig a little deeper into some key points from the panels.

Americans' trust of the media is absolutely in the gutter https://notthebee.com/article/americans-trust-of-the-media-is-completely-in-the-gutter-and-boy-you-just-hate-to-see-it And the Bee notes about the Gallup research:  “when political differences are accounted for, the results diverge sharply along party lines: Just 11% of Republicans trust the media, while 68% of Democrats do. But even the Democratic numbers have declined notably in recent years, as have those of Independents.” I can't help but to insert Club plug here. This is sort of self serving, but I cannot think of a better way to fight mainstream media, than by first joining a solid bible believing church, and secondly joining our club. Our goal here, and I hope we are doing a pretty good job of this, is to proclaim the Lordship of Christ over politics, produce quality news and commentary that you can trust, and build a network that surpass unprincipled legacy media like Fox News. So, go to FightLaughFeast.com to sign up and support our efforts.  Texas governor bans Covid-19 vaccine mandates by any employer in state https://apple.news/AbFpB3TM-RoeortH-jmAnHA Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday issued an executive order banning all state entities, including private employers, from enforcing vaccine mandates, the latest escalation in the Republican's resistance to public health measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. The order states that "no entity in Texas" can enforce vaccination against anyone in the state who objects "for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19," according to a news release from the governor's office.  "The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced," Abbott said in a statement.  Abbott also called on the Texas state Legislature to pass a law with the same effect. The executive order would be rescinded upon the passage of such legislation, the governor's office said.  Southwest, American among Texas businesses defying Abbott to comply with federal vaccine mandate https://www.statesman.com/story/business/2021/10/12/southwest-american-plan-ignore-abbott-comply-vaccine-mandate/8423456002/ Now according to the Satesman, there is a battle of the gods, and it looks like the federal god won: “Two of the national's largest airlines — Southwest Airlines and American Airlines — both based in Texas, said Tuesday they plan to follow looming federal guidelines and require that their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, despite an order from Gov. Greg Abbott that attempts to block such mandates. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines last week ordered all of its estimated 55,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID 19 by Dec. 8. That folowed a directive from President Joe Biden, who in September said all private companies with more than 100 workers must require employees to be vaccinated or conduct weekly tests for the coronavirus. Southwest said in a written statement Tuesday that the president's executive order “supersedes any state mandate or law,” saying the company is required to adhere to it despite Abbott's action “to remain compliant as a federal contractor.”” But listen to this. In the same article:  “Amber Gunst, CEO of the Austin Technology Council, said most companies in Texas are unlikely to follow the governor's mandate. Employers don't have the option to defy OSHA standards, both for legal reasons and for insurance-related concerns, she said. "When the federal government comes in with OSHA and they say, 'this is what we need to do in order to keep employees safe,' companies have to follow those rules in order to be in compliance with OSHA, so I don't really feel that most companies are going to look at the mandate that the governor created and want to adhere to that," Gunst said.  "Companies don't have an option to choose to not be in compliance with OSHA. They will have a very strict, and steep price to pay if they're not in compliance with OSHA." Gunst said she thinks most companies will see Abbott's order "as a nuisance that the governor has created." The question is a nuisance to who? Who is being the nuisance? Who is forcing people to vax?  The Wallstree Journal captures this gem:  https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccine-mandate-fight-between-texas-and-biden-has-companies-caught-in-the-middle-11634073605 “The Greater Houston Partnership, which represents some 900 companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Chevron Corp. and Accenture PLC, said Tuesday that Mr. Abbott's order would make it more difficult for Texas businesses to operate safely. The organization has been generally supportive of Mr. Biden's efforts to require vaccines for large employers.” Texas companies are showing more loyalty to the federal government, than to their state. We be tripp'n. Joe Biden's Vaccine Mandate Doesn't Exist. It's Just A Press Release https://thefederalist.com/2021/10/07/joe-bidens-vaccine-mandate-doesnt-exist-its-just-a-press-release/?s=04#.YV9Ab7sLmEY.twitter According to Joy Pullmann over at The Federalist: “Yes, we've heard all about Joe Biden's alleged vaccine mandate for private companies employing 100 or more people. It was all over the news even before he announced it on September 9. His announcement has jeopardized the employment of millions of Americans and increased worker shortages in critical domains such as health care. There's only one problem. It's all a mirage. Biden's so-called vaccine mandate doesn't exist — at least, not yet. So far, all we have is his press conference and other such made-for-media huff-puffing. No such rule even claiming to be legally binding has been issued yet. That's why nearly two dozen Republican attorneys general who have publicly voiced their opposition to the clearly unconstitutional and illegal mandate haven't yet filed suit against it, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General confirmed for me. There is no mandate to haul into court. And that may be part of the plan. According to several sources, so far it appears no such mandate has been sent to the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs yet for approval. The White House, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Department of Labor haven't released any official guidance for the alleged mandate. There is no executive order. There's nothing but press statements. Despite what you may have been falsely led to believe by the media fantasy projection machine, press statements have exactly zero legal authority. To impose the public perception of a mandate, the Biden administration is following an unusual rule-making process it also employed earlier this year, called an emergency temporary standard (ETS). The spring ETS rule took nearly six months to issue. Meanwhile, companies are telling reporters their vaccine mandates will have at the latest December deadlines. (For those who can't calendar, that's four months after Biden's non-existent mandate was proclaimed. According to OSHA, an ETS takes up to six months to go into effect after the initial mandate is issued in the Federal Register — which, again, for the proclaimed 100-employee mandate hasn't happened yet.) Lawyers for big business were blunt about their love for this mandate mirage: “Everybody loves this cover,” Minneapolis employment lawyer Kate Bischoff told Bloomberg Law in September. “Many were already looking down the road at doing this, but the fact that they get to blame Biden is like manna from heaven.” Using the ETS procedure instead of normal federal rule-making processes both allows the Biden administration to push its demands faster and without any public input or requirement of responding to public input, which is normally required of even legally laughable federal rule-making like this one would be. That is part of why ETS rules have been overwhelmingly overturned in courts. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal published a letter from Bruce Atkinson making several excellent observations about the nonexistent mandate, including the following:” “The mandate's nonexistence shields the Biden administration from legal challenges that may ultimately restrict the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's authority. Yet the mandate is still effective at compelling industries and companies into compliance, as it leaves room for any eventual issuance to target noncompliant entities. This implied cudgel is particularly effective on industries and companies that are dependent on federal spending or the goodwill of federal regulators. The nonexistent mandate also allows so-inclined state and local governments and companies to issue their own mandates, seemingly in lockstep with Washington. The Biden White House has been well-served by presenting a nonexistent mandate as a done deal.” Guitar AD Have you always wanted to play guitar but didn't know where to start? Learning to play the guitar can be a lonely, confusing and expensive experience. But it doesn't have to be that way. Fight Laugh Feast member David Harsh has created a unique, online monthly membership, that has community, a clear success path, and it's super affordable. David has spent decades of touring, leading worship, and teaching guitar. He's helped thousands of guitar players discover their potential. You may have heard us talk about GuitarSuccess4U. Here's an update. Several of our listeners have joined this membership, and they are having a blast! Maybe it's time for you to hop on board! When you join this membership, you can learn at your own pace, from home, alongside a community of guitarists including worship leaders, hobbyists, retirees, stay-at-home moms and more. Through video lessons, worksheets, and weekly Zoom calls, David will take you step-by-step towards becoming the musician you were made to be. GuitarSuccess4U is only $29 a month – that's less than a dollar a day, and a fraction of the cost of guitar lessons. Learn more and join now at GuitarSuccess4U.com. That's “Guitar Success,” the number “4” and the letter “U,” dot com. Join today and get 5 instant bonuses to help accelerate your progress! Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to start your guitar journey. That's Guitar Success, the number “4” and the letter “U,” dot com. A record 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in August, led by food and retail industries https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/12/a-record-4point3-million-workers-quit-their-jobs-in-august-led-by-food-and-retail-industries.html According to CNBC: “Workers left their jobs at a record pace in August, with bar and restaurant employees as well as retail staff quitting in droves, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Quits hit a new series high going back to December 2000, as 4.3 million workers left their jobs. The quits rate rose to 2.9%, an increase of 242,000 from the previous month, which saw a rate of 2.7%, according to the department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The rate, which is measured against total employment, is the highest in a data series that goes back to December 2000. Quits have been seen historically as a level of confidence from workers who feel they are secure in finding employment elsewhere, though labor dynamics have changed during Covid-19 crisis. Workers have left their jobs because of health concerns and child care issues unique to the pandemic's circumstances. A total of 892,000 workers in the food service and accommodation industries left their jobs, while 721,000 retail workers departed along with 534,000 in health care and social assistance. “As job openings and hires fell in August, the quits rate hit a new series high, surging along with the rise in Covid cases and likely growing concerns about working in the continuing pandemic,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.” Now two questions for me arise out of this information. Why are these people quitting, and where are they going?  I could not dig up the answer for where these quitters went, and the best answer I could dig up for why they are quitting coming from the Business, Insider where they speculate:  https://www.businessinsider.com/over-4-million-workers-quit-record-labor-shortage-great-resignation-2021-10 “Workers are likely quitting over work conditions, pay, the virus, or contemplation of their lives.” Bottom line is the government has created a catawampus economy, and screws up all the incentives, this makes it hard to understand what is really going on here.  Pelosi signals big spending package will shrink to $2 trillion https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/pelosi-signals-2-trillion-spending-bill Facing intractable opposition from party centrists, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will have to “make tighter decisions” on a massive social welfare spending package that is stalled in Congress. Pelosi, a California Democrat, acknowledged in a press conference Tuesday that the $3.5 trillion package planned by Democrats will have to shrink to about $2 trillion, telling reporters, “The fact is there are fewer dollars to spend, there are choices to be made, and the members have said let's get the results we need, but we will not diminish the transformative nature of what it is.” Pelosi, in a memo to Democrats late Monday, told them caucus members are calling for a spending package that will “do fewer things well so that we can still have a transformative impact on families in the workplace and responsibly address the climate crisis.” Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, set an Oct. 31 deadline to advance the package. Tight race in Virginia gubernatorial showdown with three weeks until election https://www.foxnews.com/politics/virginia-gubernatorial-showdown-three-weeks-until-election Tuesday marks three weeks to go until Election Day in Virginia, and the top-of-the- ticket race remains an extremely close contest in one of just two states to hold gubernatorial elections in the year after a presidential contest. An average of the latest polls in the race indicates that former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe – who's running for his old job – holds a slight, single-digit edge over Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin in a state that President Biden won by 10 points in last year's election and where Republicans haven't won a statewide contest in a dozen years.  The margin-of-error race in Virginia – a one-time key battleground but still competitive state which is seen as a key bellwether ahead of the 2022 midterm elections – has national Democrats on edge as they defend their razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate in next year's contests. "Folks, the Virginia Governor's race is a big deal not just for the Commonwealth but for our country," Biden wrote to supporters in a fundraising email. And McAuliffe asked in a fundraising email last week, "Are we blowing this?" Virginia and New Jersey's elections for governor always grab outsized attention as they're the only states to hold such contests the year after the presidency's decided. And there's a long-running trend of voters in the commonwealth defeating the gubernatorial nominee of the party that controls the White House. McAuliffe broke with that tradition in 2013 with his election as governor. McAuliffe was unable to run for reelection in 2017 because Virginia governors are barred from serving two straight terms. And the McAuliffe campaign announced on Tuesday that the biggest name of all - former President Obama - will team up with the former governor on Oct. 23. Closing This is Gabriel Rench with Crosspolitic News. Support Rowdy Christian media by joining our club at fightlaughfeast.com, downloading our App, and head to our annual Fight Laugh Feast Conference next fall. With your partnership, together we will fight outdated and compromised media, engage news and politics with the gospel, and replace lies and darkness with truth and light. Go to fightlaughfeast.com to take all these actions. Have a great day. Lord bless 

On the latest episode of the Building Texas Business podcast, I'm excited to introduce you to Bob Harvey, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston region's principal business organization. Bob was a successful business leader in his own right before taking over at the partnership 10 years ago, and in this episode, we discuss the trends he's seeing in the employer, employee relationships, and company culture post-COVID, and how Houston's corporate leaders are engaging more with the area's institutions of higher education to produce a more employable workforce. You'll also hear why Bob was optimistic about the economic future of Houston. This is a very insightful episode with someone working very close to the heart of Houston's business community. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller About Greater Houston Partnership GUEST Bob HarveyAbout Bob Special Guest: Bob Harvey.

In this episode, Clay speaks with Bobby Tudor. Bobby is a Retired Partner at Perella Weinberg Partners, the founder and former Chairman of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, a philanthropist, and dedicated husband and father. Bobby is widely recognized as a leader in the Energy advisory and investment banking business, playing a key role in the shale revolution in the United States. Bobby has recently turned his attention to energy's transition towards sustainable solutions and the reduction of carbon emissions. Bobby is the Immediate Past Chair of the Greater Houston Partnership and Rice University Board of Trustees. He serves on the Board of Advisors for Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, the Collaborative for Children, the Carbon Neutral Coalition, and the Tulane Center for Energy Law. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Petroleum Council, the Houston Symphony, Good Reason Houston, and the MD Anderson Board of Visitors. Bobby and Clay walk through Bobby's journey while discussing the balance between pragmatism and purpose, turning aptitude into skill, leading on the court vs. leading in business, evolving definitions of success, goal setting, trading predictability for uncertainty, solving generational problems, philanthropy, failure, and fulfilment.

Today, on the @tobraornotpodcast, we're talking with Dr. Brittany Barreto, geneticist, serial entrepreneur, podcast host, and venture capitalist. Brittany is known for being the co-founder and Executive Director of FemTech Focus, a non-profit that supports innovation to improve womxn's health. She is also the badass host of the FemTech Focus podcast which has over 100 episodes, 32K downloads, and subscribers in over 105 countries. Over the years, Brittany has dedicated her time to assisting hundreds of FemTech founders to build, launch, and succeed through their events, resources, and market research reports. As a well-known leader in the Houston startup ecosystem, Dr. Brittany Barreto has been recognized by the Houston Business Journal and The Greater Houston Partnership. She is frequently requested to consult startups and deliver keynotes/workshops that highlight her areas of expertise: FemTech, going from science to entrepreneurship, and fundraising. Currently, Brittany is kicking off her latest endeavor as the co-founding partner and emerging fund manager at Coyote Ventures, an early-stage FemTech investment firm. She is hilarious, filled with knowledge and passion, and is quite literally the definition of a badass boss babe. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share her story and mission with you all. In this episode, we talk about… Femtech - what it is and why it's important Why women weren't included in medical trials until 1993, and the role this has played in women's healthcare over the years (for real… it's nuts you guys!) How Brittany went from selling sex toys in college to being one of the biggest leaders in the fem tech world today The world's first-ever “smart” sex toy (and one of our personal favs); addressing how 1 in 10 women have never orgasmed & 1 in 4 women struggle to reach orgasm Brittany's personal health journey, shifting from a dieting mindset to a fueling mindset Closing the gender PAIN gap and creating a new normal PS - stay tuned till the end where Brittany shares her favorite lesson that she has learned PPS -

Mia Mends has built an incredible career at a relatively young age. In this webinar, we dive into her background to uncover “how she got where she is”, including tips she would give to those who are looking to build their own careers. About Mia Mends: Mia Mends is the Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, and CEO, Impact Ventures, for Sodexo. She is responsible for leveraging Diversity & Inclusion as a key business differentiator worldwide for Sodexo. She also oversees Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Stop Hunger for Sodexo North America, and leads SodexoMAGIC, a joint venture between Sodexo and Magic Johnson Enterprises. Ms. Mends is a member of the Sodexo Global Human Resources Leadership Team and the North America Regional Leadership Committee. Sodexo is the global leader in Quality of Life services. Operating in 64 countries, Sodexo's 420,000 employees serve 100 million consumers each day through On-site Services, Benefits and Rewards Services, and Personal and Home Services. Prior to her current position, Ms. Mends held the role of Chief Administrative Officer, Sodexo North America. In this position, she was accountable for driving critical strategic initiatives in support of the NorAm business Transformation. Prior to this position, she was CEO of Benefits & Rewards Services, and was instrumental in the acquisition of Inspirus in 2016, which brought Sodexo new employee engagement services and technology assets. She has founded her own non-profit, Seven Sisters to Sisters, and serves on the boards of Girls Inc., the EMERGE Fellows program, Catalyst and the Greater Houston Partnership. She also sits on the Business Leadership Council at Wellesley College and the Harvard Business School African American Alumni Board. She is a corporate director for H&R Block and Limeade. Ms. Mends was recognized in BLACK ENTERPRISE'S 2019 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America feature. She holds a BA in economics from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Our Sponsors: Murray Resources - national recruiting firm ResumeSpice - resume writing and career coaching Feedback? Guest Suggestions? Connect with Keith Wolf on LinkedIn