Piero Castaldo

Piero Gastaldo, Secretary General, Compagnia di San Paolo, Turin, Italy

Since 1998, Mr. Gastaldo has been associated with the Compagnia di San Paolo in Turin, Italy, one of the largest private law foundations in Europe, first as Director of Programs and currently as Secretary General. Prior to joining the Campagnia di San Paolo, Mr. Gastaldo served as Commissioner/Deputy Mayor for the City of Turin, focusing on economic development, public utilities, European projects and International promotion.  As a member of the Governing Board of the European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam,  Chairman of the Fondazione per l'Arte della Compagnia di San Paolo, and member of the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome, Mr. Gastaldo and the Compagnia have played an integral role in creating  the Turin International Strategic Plan that is linking and marketing economic specialties and competencies, programming governance and services on a regional basis, and cultivating the Turin metro region’s unique quality of life and place necessary to attract and keep "talent".

Please visit the website for the Compagnia di S.Paolo for more information.

Edward F. Morrison

 Ed Morrison is the Executive Director of REI@Weatherhead, the Center for Regional Economic Issues at the Weatherhead School of Management. For over eighteen years, Ed has been conducting strategy projects with economic developers in the U.S. He has worked on these issues from rural counties to the halls of Congress and dozens of places in between. He is a professional with muddy boots. Here are some highlights of his economic development career:

 *         His work won the first Arthur D. Little Award presented by the American Economic Development Council.

 *         He is the architect of the strategic economic development plan for Oklahoma City, Forward Oklahoma City, and he has served as economic development consultant to the Chamber since 1994.

 *         Forward Oklahoma City: The New Agenda was launched in 1996 following a $10 million investment by the business community for an aggressive five-year economic development action plan to reposition Oklahoma City to the world. The plan's focus was to enhance the economic development efforts of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce by creating quality jobs, increasing capital investment, retaining existing business and improving per capita income through seven initiatives. The program generated one of the highest returns on investment ever measured by the Economic Strategy Center in Atlanta, GA. (In other words, the cost per job created or retained was extremely low, one fourth the national average.)

 *         Forward Oklahoma City II builds on the momentum of this first program.  The business community has invested more than $12 million to fund this new program. The initiatives of this program are more focused and targeted toward meeting specific needs and overcoming obstacles to quality growth. Forward Oklahoma City II's main goal is the attraction of higher paying jobs to the region, while retaining existing jobs and helping anchor firms expand in key clusters.

 *         Based on his experience with workforce development programs in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Louisiana, Ed designed the seminar "Reinventing the Game: Competing in the Global Economy". LG&E Energy sponsored this seminar during 2003.

 *         Ed is a frequent speaker on workforce development issues. Most recently, he has spoken before the Kentucky Industrial Development Council, the Indiana Economic Development Council, the Virginia Economic Development Association, and the Economic Development Council of Maine on workforce issues.

 *         He authored the 1998 report for the Commission on the Future of the South, chaired by former  Kentucky Governor, Martha Layne Collins. This report focused on the importance of "brain power" to the future of economic development. Governors in 14 Southern states appoint the Commission every six years to chart an economic development course for the South. The governors unanimously endorsed the 1998 Commission report, and then-Governor Zell Miller of Georgia called it the  "best Commission report ever written."

*         He manages the community assessment program for the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. This initiative improves development prospects throughout rural Kentucky.

*         Ed travels to China frequently. Ed's extensive experience in China began in 1986, when the Hong Kong Industry Department retained him as a consultant. Since that time he has worked for the United Nations Development Program, and for private investors. He currently serves as chairman of a joint venture project in Xi'an with U.S., Chinese and Japanese investors and as consultant to the Xi'an High Technology Development Zone.

 *         He also worked on economic development issues in Washington, first as a legislative assistant to a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and, later, as staff counsel to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

 *         Prior to starting his economic development work, Ed worked for Telesis, an offshoot of the Boston Consulting Group. In this position, he served on consulting teams for clients such as Ford Motor Company, Volvo, and General Electric. He conducted manufacturing cost studies in the U.S., Japan, Mexico, Canada, Italy, Sweden, and France.

 Ed holds a BA degree from Yale University and MBA and JD degrees from the University of Virginia.