Mayor Curt Pringle, the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce and the City of Anaheim hosts The Next Generation of Anaheim Business to showcase Anaheim´s growth and continued promise for the Anaheim's future economic forecast.

More than 400 people attend this event annually, which features several high-profile keynote speakers, breakout sessions, a business expo, and reception.

Visit this page for information on next year's event.

Economist and national bestselling author, Dr. Richard Florida, joined us for the keynote address of the Conference. Florida is one of the world's leading intellectuals on economic ompetitiveness,
demographic trends and cultural and technological innovation.

Dr. Florida has penned two recent national bestsellers, The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class. These and his prior works detail his provocative look at how creativity is driving the next wave of the global economy.

Florida has authored pieces for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Economist, The Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic Monthly, The Chronicle for Higher Education, U.S. News and World Report and more.

Following Dr. Florida's address, OC Metro's Steve Churm moderated a special panel of leading experts in manufacturing, business, real estate and economics. The panel and audience engaged in a far-reaching discussion of how Anaheim can attract the next generation of emergent business sectors and its associated highly-skilled, educated workforce. The panel explored Anaheim’s assets and challenges in job attraction and retention, and specific policies the City might adopt to strengthen Anaheim'™s economy, from tax incentives, utility rates, workforce development, and infrastructure.

Panelists included:

Steve Churm is the owner of Churm Media, a Newport Beach-based company that publishes 6 magazines and 8 interactive Web sites. Between its various titles, the company publishes more than 500,000 magazines monthly with 1.8 million eaders in five Southern California counties.

Churm is a former award-winning journalist with four California newspapers including the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times, where he covered politics and the environment.