Linking with a group of top corporate executives and university presidents provides MichBio added muscle in formulating a strategic plan to grow Michigan’s life sciences industry.

All the talk surrounding the need for more investment into Michigan’s higher education institutions is starting to pay off — at least a little bit.

Michigan needs to spend another $1 billion on higher education to produce graduates with the advanced skills needed for the 21st century economy, contends Business Leaders for Michigan. 

If nothing else, Gov. Rick Snyder’s focus on improving funding for Michigan’s aging roads and bridges positions the issue toward the top of the agenda in Lansing.

After securing a partial victory in a long-sought goal of repealing Michigan’s personal property tax, business advocates next need to turn their attention to convincing voters to go along with the plans.

Michigan became a little more competitive with other states over the last two years, although it’s still far from the goal of corporate CEOs to become a top 10 state for economic performance, according to an annual report.

The former head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. under John Engler, Rothwell now leads Business Leaders For Michigan, an organization representing many of the state’s largest employers.

As a state of peninsulas, many people might not associate Michigan with being a logistics hub. Bit that's what the state's business leaders hope to create.

WEST MICHIGAN — For the first time in recent memory, the state of Michigan is actually adding money back to its higher education budget.

The newest ideas from a coalition of corporate CEOs and university presidents seek to build on what Michigan already does well to drive employment and economic growth in the years ahead. Building on Michigan’s engineering and logistics acumen; growing the life sciences sector further; boosting agricultural processing and exports and tourism; strengthening higher education; and leveraging the auto industry’s legacy for new forms of transportation are the key elements of a “New Michigan” strategy rolled out by Business Leaders for Michigan.