Back to Business

Leading a company isn't easy, especially in the new digital age. We speak with Robert from Twisthink about how he's setting his company up for success and building resilience in his team. This podcast is sponsored by Comcast Business. Learn more at https://business.comcast.com/

Peter Marantette has lead the team at Reserve Wine & Food through a lot of challenges throughout the years, including COVID, staffing shortages, and inflation. We had a chance to sit down with Peter and learn more about how he's tackling one of the toughest industries out there and building resilience in his team and organization for the future. This podcast is sponsored by  Comcast .

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 West Michigan CEO Summit. Ben Miller & Jeff Snyder work on Comcast's Government Affairs team. Their big priority at the moment is bridging the digital divide in rural communities across the Midwest. We had a chance to sit down with Ben & Jeff and learn more about how their working to build resiliency in their networks and the communities they...

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 West Michigan CEO Summit. Laura Hopson is the President and CEO of EM Services. We had a chance to sit down with Laura and learn more about what she's excited about in her role and how she's thinking about resilience while leading her team. This podcast is sponsored by  Comcast .

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 West Michigan CEO Summit. Tim Shields is the new President & CEO of Kentwood Office Furniture. We had a chance to sit down with Tim and learn more about what he's excited about in his new role and how he's thinking about resilience while he's leading leading his team at Kentwood Office Furniture. This podcast is sponsored by  Comcast .

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 West Michigan CEO Summit. Jen Crowley is a Partner at Highland Group. We had a chance to sit down with Jen and learn more about how resiliancy helped her bounce back from an unfortunate situation and start her company. Jen also serves as the Grand Rapids Chamber Board Chair for 2023. This podcast is sponsored by ⁠Comcast⁠ .

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 West Michigan CEO Summit. We had a chance to sit down with Brad Kessel of Independent Bank and learn more about what he's excited about in his role and how he's thinking about resilience while he's leading his team at Independent Bank. This podcast is sponsored by ⁠Comcast⁠ .

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 West Michigan CEO Summit. Dr. Charles Lepper is the new President of Grand Rapids Community College. We had a chance to sit down with Dr. Lepper and learn more about what he's excited about in his new role and how he's thinking about resilience while he's leading GRCC. This podcast is sponsored by Comcast .

This week on the podcast, we sat down with Elwood and Caylie Peet to learn more about some of the excitement and struggles of being a small business owner and Asian American business owner during Asian American Heritage Month and National Small Business Week.

This podcast is a recording from our recent Town Hall hosted by our Vice President of Investor & Corporate Relations Omar Cuevas. Recently, Silicon Valley Bank was closed by state banking regulators, and New York officials did the same to Signature Bank. What does this say about the stability of the banking system? Additionally, inflation continues to be higher than economists’ expectations. ...

How did we get into the situation where we are 35,000 housing units short of demand? What happens to people who can't find housing in their budget?  We sat down with Brooke Oosterman, Director of Policy & Communications for Housing Next to learn more about how we got in this housing crisis to begin with, and what we can do to find homes for the many families and individuals that are looki...

Honor Construction knows what it takes to build multifamily housing at all price points. We sat down with Honor's President, Brad Laackman to learn more about the housing shortage in West Michigan, and how he's working to overcome those difficulties.

Tommy Brann finished his time in Lansing in 2022, but not before making a big impact and being named Legislator of the Year by MIRS. Andy Johnston, Senior Vice President at the Chamber and Brann joined the podcast to learn how Brann is reflecting on his time in the Legislator.  Brann is also looking forward to joining the Wyoming City Council and making an impact closer to home.

Winter months often lead to slower economic activity. World of Winter is bringing visitors to our downtown. Over 7000 people visited downtown during the festival's opening weekend. With two months and dozens of events to go, we're excited to see thousands more visitors and new art installations as the festival progresses. Many of these art installations are coming from artists with a worldwide aud...

2022 was a dynamic year for the community. We checked in with President & CEO Rick Baker to wrap up the year and hear what he's excited for in the next year. We checked in with Rick Baker in April as well. Find that episode in your feed to hear our discussion on the growth of Grand Rapids and West Michigan in the last decade.

Catherine’s Health Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center. They provide a variety of high quality services in our community to those who might not otherwise have access to care. On this episode, we sat down with Megan Erskine, CEO of Catherine's to learn more about the work that they are doing in our community.  Learn more about Catherine's Health Center: https://c...

ArtPrize recently announced they were ending their original experiment started in 2009. This led to headlines like "ArtPrize is calling it quits". ArtPrize is in fact, not calling it quits. The original nonprofit is closing it's doors, but ArtPrize is finding new life with Kendall College of Art and Design, the City of Grand Rapids, and Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc. We sat down with Tara McCrackin,...

Crime is one of the most important issues for our members. Many don't realize the Chamber has been working with Silent Observer for decades to create resources to safely provide law enforcements with more tips to track crime.  We sat down with new Director Maddison Moser and outgoing Director Chris Cameron to learn more about what Silent Observer does to help fight crime. Learn more about Sil...

Today on the Back to Business Podcast, we learned more about how TowerPinkster is working with their clients to create a more sustainable future.  Learn more about TowerPinkster's sustainability efforts: https://www.towerpinkster.com/

Hightalian is one of the many companies that jumped into the new cannabis market that was created when recreational cannabis  was legalized in 2019.  We sat down with Davide Uccello, the company's founder to learn more about what makes their company unique, and how they're breaking into the new market space.

The Grand Rapids Junior Chamber has been making a difference in Grand Rapids for decades. The organization is a group 21-40 year old young professionals. In addition to networking and talent development programs, the Junior Chamber is committed to giving back to the community. One of their biggest events of the year is the upcoming Santa Clause Parade . We had a chance to sit down with Levi Cipcic...

Childcare is one of the number one issues preventing people from returning to the workforce. The State of Michigan's solution is a new program called Tri-Share. This program helps parents get back to work by making childcare more affordable. The program splits the cost between 3 partners: the state, the employer, and the employee. On the final episode of our workforce development series, we learn...

Talent attraction and development is a top concern for employers in West Michigan and across the country. We’re excited to be hosting a 3-part series on Workforce Development with resources businesses can use to strengthen their workforce. One barrier to talent attraction and development is access to education and workforce training programs. The State of Michigan is working to address this with t...

Talent attraction and development is a top concern for employers in West Michigan and across the country. The Going PRO Talent Fund is one way that employers can attract and retain top talent, and give them skills to succeed on the job. On this episode of the Back to Business Podcast we had a chance to learn more about how employers can utilize this money to their advantage.  West Michigan Wo...

Families come in all shapes and sizes and from all across the world. Ama International and Bethany Christian Services are working together to create welcoming environment for all in West Michigan. Whether that be working to place foster children in loving homes or helping a New American with their residency paperwork, these two organizations work in a variety of ways to help the people who need it...