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Portland Business Journal
Portland marketers join forces in new industry group
Two Pacific Northwest groups that work with marketing execs say they've formed an alliance that will help its member professionals better connect.<\p> Club CMO and ThinkNW say the strategy "will benefit and connect brand, agency, creative, technology and entrepreneurial leaders across the region." Club CMO offers networking opportunities chief marketing officers and other senior execs while ThinkNW calls itself "a next-generation community" that connects marketing teams.<\p>
Haitian food, canned mocktails, frozen pizza finalists in OregonAF
Five companies are finalists for this year’s Oregon Angel Food competition from Oregon Entrepreneurs Network. <\p> The annual event includes funding opportunities and an education series for food and beverage business founders. <\p>
The coveted perk that could be critical for workforce development
As the focus shifts from recruitment to retention in a still-tight hiring market, many employers are searching for the incentives that will retain workers. <\p> While perks like four-day workweeks, unlimited vacation and remote work are often in the spotlight, another coveted perk is career development and upskilling opportunities. <\p>
City advisor counsels Keller competitors to polish ideas
Greg Phillips knows a thing or three about proposals coming before City Council this month to renovate or replace Keller Auditorium, and how to make the ideas sing. <\p> Phillips is the former executive director of Portland Center Stage and a driving force behind the Armory performance venue renovation in the Pearl District, from which Portland Center Stage has operated since 2006. Since the start of this year, he’s been contracted by the city to help three applicants workshop their Keller plans, slated to come before commissioners on May 29 for a public debut and council questions. That won't be the final word: a formal decision on the winner is likely later in the year. <\p>
MusicPortland launches initiative to bring live music to metro area
Portlanders, specifically those who live and go downtown, will be able to experience nearly 100 curated musical performances across several different public spaces this summer.<\p> MusicPortland, a grassroots nonprofit that works to amplify the voices of Portland’s independent music industry, recently announced an initiative called City Sessions that aims to harness Portland’s local live music scene to help revitalize downtown Portland. <\p>
Portland tourism boosters tout visitor numbers, rosy outlook
The group that tracks Portland's visitor trends said the sector grew in all key categories in 2023.<\p> What's more, the city "is poised to maintain its momentum," Travel Portland officials said during a "state of the industry" report issued during its Annual Tourism & Hospitality Awards program in downtown Portland Tuesday afternoon.<\p>
Amazon's AWS CEO is stepping down
The leader of Amazon.com Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AMZN) cloud division is stepping down next month, three years after his return, the company announced Tuesday.<\p> Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees in a publicly posted memo Tuesday that Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky was leaving the company on June 3. Jassy has already chosen Matt Garman, vice president of sales and marketing for AWS, to be his successor.<\p>
Growing share of real estate agents weigh leaving their brokerages
The Covid-19 pandemic and a recent wave of class-action lawsuits have pushed more real estate agents to consider leaving their brokerages.<\p> Those findings, from the latest annual Agent Priorities Report from Coldwell Banker Real Estate, found while 61% of agents surveyed plan on sticking with their company this year, that’s down from 75% in 2023.<\p>
Oregon's second-largest electric utility has a new president
Pacific Power, the western arm of Portland-based PacifiCorp and the second-largest electric utility in Oregon, has new leadership.<\p> The company said Ryan Flynn was appointed as president, filling a role previously held by Stefan Bird. Bird, who had also held the title CEO since 2015, retired at the beginning of this year.<\p>
Portland hospital invests $177M in upgrades to ER, cardiac care
Providence Oregon on Tuesday announced a $177 million upgrade to the emergency departments at Providence Portland Medical Center and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, along with a major remodel of St. Vincent’s cardiac intensive care unit.<\p> More than 80% of the total funding, $144 million, is from donors, making it the largest campaign in Providence Oregon’s history.<\p>
Faces of the List: Navex CEO on private equity owners, AI effects
Few businesses are truly recession-proof. But selling software in the government, risk and compliance space is pretty close, said Navex CEO Sean Thompson.<\p> His company sells software that more than 13,000 customers use to help manage ethics policies, compliance with government regulations and risk management. These customers count more than 75 million employees.<\p>
Despite Portland successes, small businesses faced leaner times in '23
Portland has snared a solid standing in a new small business climate ranking.<\p> The online financing platform Biz2Credit ranked the Rose City seventh in a financial analysis gauging "the top cities for small businesses." The ranking is based on annual revenue, credit scores, the ages of businesses and the group's proprietary scores of companies that applied for funding last last year.<\p>
A $4M barn gives PCC a leg up on veterinary services
Portland Community College students seeking veterinary tech training will now get their instruction in a shiny new Rock Creek campus facility.<\p> The new 10,000-square-foot barn, at 17705 N.W. Springville Road, replaces a nearly 50-year-old facility "beset by structural issues and a lack of quality education space and technology," the school said in a release. The new, $4 million barn will better serve those in PCC's Veterinary Technology Program and, the school says, "improve animal welfare."<\p>
Airline credit-card reward programs in regulators' crosshairs
The nation's major airlines are drawing heat over their branded credit-card reward programs, with federal regulators targeting consumer complaints that claim many perks don't live up to the hype and sometimes cost more than they are worth. Those findings...
Vancouver gets another commercial banking option
Washington Trust Bank is opening a branch in Vancouver this year, the bank said.<\p> Washington Trust Bank ranked No. 15 on the Business Journal's most recent list of largest FDIC-insured banks in the Portland metro. The Spokane-based bank came to the Portland area in 2005 and has expanded from there. The Vancouver financial center at 1400 Washington St., Suite 200, will mark its first Vancouver location, according to the bank.<\p>
Oregon university expands Portland presence with Pearl District lease
Willamette University is moving students into the Ecotrust building in the Pearl District. <\p> The new lease brings the Salem-based private university's graduate programs closer to its Pacific Northwest College of Arts.<\p>
Why a new Oregon law is costing hospitals millions
Oregon hospital systems are scrambling to comply with one of the nation’s toughest hospital staffing laws, which passed the Legislature last year after a long and, at times, contentious process.<\p> June is the deadline for hospitals to staff their units according to the nurse-to-patient ratios outlined in the law. Committees made up of management as well as direct care nurses are putting the final touches on safe staffing levels that adhere to the minimum standards at all times, including during meal and rest breaks.<\p>
Intel hires industry vet for key role in Gelsinger's turnaround plan
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) has brought in an industry veteran to fill a key role in its ambitious bid to become a leading contract chip manufacturer.<\p> Kevin O'Buckley started on Monday as senior vice president and general manager of foundry services, succeeding Stuart Pann, the company said.<\p>
Nike announces WNBA star as next signature athlete
After more than a year of design work, Nike announced Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson as its newest athlete with a signature shoe.<\p> The first overall draft pick in the 2018 WNBA draft and MVP of the 2023 WNBA finals, Wilson has been a trailblazer for the next generation of women’s basketball stars. She joins Nike’s roster of women’s signature athletes that includes other greats such as Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, Naomi Osaka and Sabrina Ionescu.<\p>
Why Amazon's recent moves bode well for a cooling CRE market
Welcome to The National Observer, a roundup of top business news and actionable insights from across The Business Journals. We'll take a look today at a bankruptcy health care system's hospital sale; a $3.3B investment from Microsoft that will help establish an artificial intelligence hub; and what you need to know about upcoming changes to overtime rules. But we'll start with the dynamics in this once-hot commercial real estate subsector.<\p> Get more stories like these every day in your inbox by subscribing to The National Observer newsletter.<\p>
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