Join us to discuss Houston’s success in diversifying its economy beyond energy as well as challenges in transportation, infrastructure and zoning. Our guest speakers will be Bob Harvey, President and CEO of Greater Houston Partnership and Joel Kotkin, Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Houston-based Center for Opportunity Urbanism.
Bob Harvey is President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership. With a membership made up of the region's major for-profit businesses, financial and professional services firms, and non-profit institutions, the Partnership serves as greater Houston's principal business organization. The Partnership focuses on attracting investment and trade to Houston, advocating for sound public policy, and convening a diverse set of Houstonians when major issues arise.Prior to joining the Partnership, Harvey was active in the Houston business community, first as a management consultant in the Houston office of McKinsey & Company, Inc. for 17 years and then as Vice Chair/Executive Vice President with Reliant Energy.
Harvey has served in a variety of community volunteer leadership roles including serving as Board Chair of the United Way of Greater Houston from 2007-2010.Harvey currently serves on the Community Foundation Council of the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the boards of St. John's School, the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Center for Houston's Future, the Alliance for I-69 and the Houston Technology Center.Harvey was raised in Houston, Texas, and attended Texas A&M University, graduating with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1978. He obtained his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1982.
Described by the New York Times as “America’s uber-geographer,” Joel Kotkin is an internationally-recognized authority on global, economic, political and social trends. He authored THE HUMAN CITY: Urbanism for the Rest of Us (Agate Press) in 2016 and co-edited, with MIT’s Alan Berger, the 2018 collection INFINITE SUBURBIA (Princeton University Press).
Mr. Kotkin is the Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University in Orange, California and Executive Director of the Houston-based Center for Opportunity Urbanism (opportunityurbanism.org). He is Senior Advisor to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. He is Executive Editor of the widely read website www.newgeography.com. A regular contributor to the City Journal, Daily Beast and Real Clear Politics, he also writes a weekly column for Digital First Media, which owns numerous daily newspapers in the greater Los Angeles region.
To register and for additional information, please contact events@adamsmithsociety.com.