A longtime advocate for economic development in Michigan left that role this year, turning over an influential business organization focused on improving the state’s economy to new leadership.
Doug Rothwell ended his tenure at Business Leaders for Michigan this fall after what he says are many successes, but also remaining challenges.
The organization grew out of Detroit Renaissance, a business roundtable for the city that launched in the 1970s. After forming and leading the Michigan Economic Development Corp., Rothwell moved to the Detroit-based organization and rebranded it with a stateside mission.
His goal, Rothwell said, was “to really get us, as a state, thinking about how we fit into the global world that we have to live in and work in, rather than just our little cocoon within the state’s borders.” (Editor’s note: Rothwell is on the steering committee for the Center for Michigan, the parent company of Bridge Michigan.)