Detroit Economic Club hosts the 2024 Michigan economic outlook

Attracting businesses, talented workers and population are high priorities for Michigan, and the national competition is fierce.

Join the Detroit Economic Club‘s panel of speakers, including Michigan Chief Growth Officer Hilary Doe, Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin L. Messer, Jr. and University of Michigan Director of Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics Gabriel Ehrlich, as they collectively discuss their attraction plans and provide their outlook on Michigan’s 2024 economy.

Results of the 12th annual Michigan Economic Outlook Survey, a highly collaborative effort that involves input from over 1,000 businesspeople and many associations throughout the state, will also be unveiled during the discussion. The conversation begins at noon; livestream it at the top of this page or on YouTube.

About the Speakers:

Hilary Doe, Chief Growth Officer, State of Michigan

As Chief Growth Officer, Hilary leads the state’s efforts to grow Michigan’s population, economy, and reputation as the best place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business. Hilary works alongside the Growing Michigan Together Council on a once-in-a-generation effort to grow Michigan’s population, boost economic growth, and make Michigan the place everyone wants to call home.

Hilary is a dynamic leader in nonprofits, technology, strategy, and public policy. She served as the national director at the Roosevelt Network, where she built and led an organization engaging thousands of young people in civic engagement and social change programming at chapters nationwide, which ultimately earned the organization recognition as a recipient of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. She also served as Vice President of the Roosevelt Institute, where she oversaw strategy and expanded the Institute’s Four Freedoms Center, with the goal of empowering communities and reducing inequality alongside the greatest economists of our generations.

Most recently, she served as President and Chief Strategy Officer at Nationbuilder, working to equip the world’s leaders with software to grow their movements, businesses, and organizations, while spreading democracy. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Honors College and Ford School of Public Policy, a Detroit resident, and proud Michigander.

Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO, Michigan Economic Development Corporation

As the Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO and President and Chair of the Michigan Strategic Fund, Quentin L. Messer, Jr. is charged with implementing and executing MEDC’s core mission of business development and attraction, community development, providing access to capital and enhancing Michigan’s image and brand with a focus on building a strong and equitable economy for all Michiganders.

Immediately prior to his role as CEO of MEDC, Messer served as President and CEO of New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA) leading efforts around business attraction, small business growth, talent development, branding, and driving market-responsive, equitable economic growth for New Orleans residents.

As the assistant secretary at Louisiana Economic Development, Messer was designated President of the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation, helping to provide financial assistance to small and medium size businesses in partnership with the private sector and federal agencies including the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Messer’s private sector experience includes The Boston Consulting Group and O’Melveny & Myers LLP, as well as work at a variety of start-up ventures, including as a principal at Foster Chamberlain, LLC – a start-up venture accelerator and corporate venturing consultancy.

An IEDC certified economic developer (CEcD), Messer received a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University, where he was a Princeton School of Public and International Affairs major and earned his Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration from Columbia University’s Law and Business Schools, respectively. He sits on the board of directors of the International Economic Development Council, where he serves on the board’s Committee for Public Conduct and also is the incoming Co-Chair of the Racism in Economic Development Committee. Messer was named in Consultants Connect North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers in both 2019 and 2020.

Gabriel Ehrlich, Director of Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, University of Michigan

Gabriel Ehrlich Dr. Gabriel M. Ehrlich is an economic forecaster at the University of Michigan, where he is the director of the University’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics (RSQE). He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. His work has been discussed in the Economist, the Financial Times, and the Washington Post, and he has published articles recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Urban Economics, and the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.

Dr. Ehrlich oversees RSQE’s forecasts of the U.S. and Michigan economies, and he presents regularly to the Michigan Legislature and Governor on Michigan’s fiscal and economic prospects. He is a coauthor recently of The U.S. Economic Outlook for 2020–2021, The Michigan Economic Outlook for 2020–2021, and The Detroit Economic Outlook for 2019–2024.

Prior to joining RSQE, Dr. Ehrlich worked in the Financial Analysis Division at the Congressional Budget Office, where he forecasted interest rates and conducted analysis on monetary policy and the mortgage finance system.