Erik Collins is the Economic Development Manager for Montgomery County, Ohio – the state's fourth largest county. Erik manages the Economic Development Division and is responsible for business attraction, retention and the county's incentive programs. His accomplishments include development of Montgomery County's Linked Deposit Program in partnership with the Montgomery County Treasurer; the Linked Deposit program a $20 million program designed to buy-down interest rates for businesses that create and retain jobs in Montgomery County. Erik was instrumental in developing, and is now responsible for managing, the County's business retention and expansion initiative known as Business First! For A Greater Dayton Region, which has expanded outside of Montgomery County that includes 28 jurisdictions within a five county region. BusinessFirst! has received several awards: These awards include: 2003 Business First! received the National Association of Counties Achievement Award as an innovative program contributing to and enhancing county government in the United States and in 2006, Business Retention and Expansion International's (BREI) Award of Excellence for “An Outstanding Multi-Community Business Retention and Expansion Program.” In October 2006, Business First! received the Ohio Department of Development's Director's Economic Development Achievement Award as the “Most Effective Retention and Expansion Program in the State of Ohio.” In 2007, it received the Ohio City Managers Association (OCMA) Award for Intergovernmental Cooperation. BusinessFirst! has been featured in Economic Development America – Business Retention Helping Companies Compete in a Global Economy In addition to managing Montgomery County's business retention and expansion initiatives, Erik oversees a two million dollar tax-based sharing program called Economic Development/Government Equity (ED/GE) that is designed to promote development in Montgomery County. Erik is past President of the I-70/75 Development Association, a 300 member regional economic development association, and in 1999 was one of four young professionals selected to participate in Rotary International's Group Study Exchange Program to Sweden.

Laith Wardi, CEcD, is president of ExecutivePulse, Inc. He has worked in the economic development profession for over 20 years. Laith has comprehensive experience in business retention & expansion that includes outreach to hundreds of value-added client companies, work as a resource provider, and 15 years of regional program management. In 1994-95, Laith pioneered the first web based system for business retention. Today, the ExecutivePulse™ Business Intelligence System is the most widely used database for business retention & expansion in North America. As a founder and President of ExecutivePulse Inc., Laith provides skills training, survey development, technology development and management consultation to clients seeking to implement a systematic and sustainable customer outreach program. He is a regular instructor on business retention for the professional certification program sponsored by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Laith also speaks to community, economic and workforce development audiences throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe on customer retention, one-to-one database marketing and technology assimilation. Laith is a graduate of Mercyhurst College and received his economic development certification through IEDC in 2002. In addition to his work in the field of economic development, Laith has experience in real estate management, media sales, and as a strategic planning consultant for both public and private-sector clients.