This year on May 2, 2024, the City of Phoenix led by Mayor Kate Gallego will have hundreds of people from around the world at the Biltmore Resort in Phoenix for the 1st Annual Phoenix Global Forum. We hope to see you there! It's going to be GLOBAL!! Click HERE to join for the full day, starting the day off the lobby for breakfast HERE. So much of our progress is based on the help by City of Phoenix, starting with Mayor Greg Stanton, who staged our launch in Phoenix City Hall, to Mayor Gallego, who has been a 100% supporter - thank you, thank you to the entire City of Phoenix team now and over the years!
This week marks a significant milestone for Global Chamber® because it was EXACTLY 10 years ago on May 2, 2014 that I had a bit of an odd meeting in Southern California with a global organization that will remain nameless, and I thought that SOMEONE and SOME ORGANIZATION should step up and be truly global, to help companies that are looking to be more global... by connecting them to clients, resources, investors and partners.
To do that I imagined that it would take a global organization with chapters everywhere in the world. I drove from Southern California that day back to Phoenix the 6 hours or so, and kept running it all through my head, till the next week sharing with my Vistage group, and getting their thoughts.
It took up to a year to get things really going, but the idea including the name hatched on May 2nd. And miraculously the name 'Global Chamber' was something that could be trademarked, and so we did, protecting it from use by other organizations.
From May 2, 2014 to this week, May 2, 2024 at the Global Phoenix Forum... we've had 10 years of thinking, planning, implementation, growth and now scaling. We mirror the history of Phoenix globally, too - which had a fraction of a person doing global economic development in those days. That encouraged me, because I thought the there was opportunity... in Phoenix and a network globally.
Today there are many people at City of Phoenix involved with global business. In fact Mayor Gallego herself was instrumental in bringing tens of billions of dollars of investment to Phoenix from TSMC alone. And her investment in Export League by Global Chamber®, along with her other initiatives, helps companies in Phoenix grow globally.
Thank you to the team including Mayor Gallego, SVP of economic and community development Christine MacKay, president of Sister Cities Rita Marko and more for your leadership. Thank you past leaders including Mayor Greg Stanton (now U.S. Representative Stanton), head of international economic development Hank Marshall, and more!
Today other cities have stepped up including City of Surprise, City of Peoria, City of Scottsdale and City of Tucson. We also love Mayor Corey Woods of Tempe, who was an early, early supporter of Global Chamber when he worked... at City of Phoenix! And now around the world.
This week on May 2, I'll personally be remembering that long drive across the desert when I was wondering if Phoenix could be as global as other cities someday. And... could it overcome a thin, local-based economy susceptible to real estate booms and busts?
Also on that drive, I was asking myself... would enough leaders in Phoenix and globally become interested in a trusted, supportive, members-centric, ROI-driven, EVERYWHERE global community so that Global Chamber® would survive and thrive?
Seems like the answer to both is, thankfully... YES.
Thousands of organizations and leaders have said yes, and we've built the network to include millions of leaders worldwide. Today we are scaling across 525 metros, getting up every day around the world full of gratitude, and with member needs in mind.
Plenty of smiles over the years, and a few tears... and here we are. Like Phoenix, rising.
We'll celebrate our 10-year anniversary in 2025, but for now, May 2nd is a fun milestone.
It's not a culmination. It's a beginning.
Doug Bruhnke - founder/CEO at Global Chamber
Global Chamber® is a worldwide community of growing companies and leaders in 525 metro regions and 195 countries, everywhere. We're the only chamber of commerce in hundreds of locations that simply and proactively connects exporting, importing, investing and growing member organizations to clients, partners, projects, investors and resources anywhere through warm introductions, events and more. We're ideal for leaders seeking to grow more simply and with less risk across regions.
Global Chamber® is a registered trademark of Global Chamber, LLC since 2014.
Originally published at https://www.globalchamber.org/blog/2024/04/28/global-chamber/the-10-year-anniversary-for-the-idea-of-global-chamber/
