By: Anna Lardinois, Startup Storyteller, MMAC

Supply chain issues.
It is a phrase we’ve all become familiar with, and it has been blamed for everything from empty shelves at grocery stores to delayed construction projects.

Milwaukee-based Renaissant has created a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that gets trucks on the road quickly and works to bridge gaps in the shipping system that is an essential part of the supply chain. As Co-Founder and Vice President of Business Development Patrick J. McGartland says, “There are bottlenecks along several of these pathways, but wherever you can help improve the turn and the speed of freight movement you have an impact on the overall supply chain.”

Congratulations to M7’s Rebecca Gries, who recently was named to Consultant Connect’s 2022 list of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers and promoted to M7 Vice President of Corporate Attraction and Expansion.  

When Jim Paetsch makes his initial pitch to a company that may be interested in moving to the Milwaukee Region, you might expect him to take over the meeting with a filibuster of statistics about our business-friendly environment, skilled work force, high quality of life and reasonable cost of living.

But Paetsch, the Executive Director and Senior Vice President for Corporate Expansion and Attraction at the Milwaukee 7 Partnership for Economic Development, keeps that part surprisingly short – at least at the beginning.

“Initial meetings are about starting to build that trust, getting them to understand what my role is and how I can help,” Paetsch says. “But much more importantly, it’s a bad meeting if I’m doing all the talking. If that’s taken more than 60 seconds, that’s too long. Then I start asking questions.”

• What can you tell us about your company?
  
• What are your growth plans?
  
• What are your workforce needs?
  
• What sort of property & facilities are you ideally looking for?
  
• Where are your customers and suppliers located?
  

By: Tim Sheehy, President, MMAC

At a time when economic uncertainty rules the day, you may find it reassuring to know that we have a dedicated team that wakes up every day thinking about how to enhance the Milwaukee Region’s ability to compete on a national and global stage – both today and in the future. I know I do.

Since 2005, the Milwaukee 7 Partnership for Economic Development has served to unite the seven counties of Southeastern Wisconsin and coordinate efforts to attract, retain and grow the businesses and talented
employees that serve as the heartbeat of our regional economy. But the M7 team can’t do the work they do without support – and that’s where you come in.

In this issue of Milwaukee Commerce, we’ll introduce the M7 Partnership for Economic Development Campaign for 2022-2025, and make the case for how an investment in this campaign benefits you, your business and our region. As of the writing of this column, we have commitments of over $4 million as
we reach toward our overall goal of $6 million.