Invest: Greater Orlando 4th Edition leadership summit spotlights education, workforce development and infrastructure
Key points:
- • Central Florida leaders are aligning investment around growth, infrastructure, and diversification.
- • Healthcare, education, and workforce development are central to sustaining regional expansion.
- • Collaboration and capital investment are key to Greater Orlando’s next phase of growth.
September 2026 — More than 200 Central Florida business and government leaders gathered on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 2, for the Invest: Greater Orlando 4th Edition Leadership Summit. Hosted by caa at the Florida Hotel & Convention Center, the summit examined the industries and initiatives driving growth across the region, with panels on healthcare and education, economic development, and the infrastructure needed to support a fast-growing population.
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Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings opened the program with an economic outlook for the county, using tourism as a starting point before turning to how the region is diversifying — and what challenges come with that growth.
“Tourism and hospitality and entertainment have long been economic engines for Orange County,” Demings said. “While tourism and hospitality remain foundational to our economy, it is also encouraging to see our economic base continue to diversify. We see significant opportunities in healthcare and life sciences, technology, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, and modeling and simulation.”
He pointed to institutions such as UCF, the region’s medical schools, Central Florida Research Park and Team Orlando as examples of how infrastructure is supporting that diversification.
“We know that starting and growing a business is not always easy. That is why Orange County is working to make government easier to navigate and to connect businesses with the resources they need,” he added. “We have a strong global brand, world-class tourism, outstanding colleges and universities, and a growing population.”
Anchoring the future
The morning’s first panel, “Anchoring the Future: The ‘eds and meds’ projects, opportunities, and gaps that are defining the region,” focused on how Greater Orlando can build the healthcare, education and workforce infrastructure needed to sustain its rapid growth. Moderated by Amanda Livermore, founding president and CEO of Cristo Rey Orlando High School, the panel brought together James Michael Burkett, president of Northbridge University; Heather Fagan, pediatrician-in-chief at Nemours Children’s Health; Jennifer Ames, CFO of AdventHealth Orlando; and Wes Sumner, vice president for external affairs and strategic advisor to the president at Florida Tech.
“Everyone in the room wants to be in a space where we are able to provide the highest quality of care in our state, and not having families on airplanes traveling up the eastern seaboard in order to achieve the level of subspecialty care that they would like,” Fagan said. “So it’s absolutely critical that all of us are training physicians, because that subspecialty gap is not only in pediatrics; that’s across the wide range of medical specialties.”
Combined strengths
The second panel, “Combined Strengths: Why an aligned Greater Orlando wins bigger together, and the challenges of turning shared goals into shared results,” examined how greater regional alignment can help Greater Orlando compete for investment, develop underutilized areas and solve infrastructure and transportation challenges. Moderated by caa Deputy Editor Ryan Gandolfo, the conversation featured Luis Nieves-Ruiz, director of economic development at the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council; Gui Cunha, director of economic development and tourism at Seminole County; and John Cox, director of economic development for the City of Deltona.
Nieves-Ruiz argued that Central Florida’s communities are economically interconnected regardless of their political boundaries. “Whatever happens within our eight-county region is actually what’s going to go and benefit everybody else,” he said. “We need to have that better connection, better transportation and better alignment of what we’re doing.”
Money matters
The event’s final panel, “Money Matters: Matching Greater Orlando’s infrastructure ambitions with capital needed for growth,” addressed how the region can pair its infrastructure and economic-growth plans with the capital, financing and investment strategies needed to build them. Dan O’Keefe, Orlando managing partner at Shutts & Bowen, moderated a discussion with Joe Losch, Central Florida market president at Ameris Bank; Ryan Burrow, Central Florida market president at City National Bank; Kevin Powell, regional network leader at Verizon; and Stephen Fussell, chief strategy officer at Orlando Sanford International Airport.
“Keeping that community focus is a critical part of our strategy of growth. We think we’re going to be a $100 billion bank headquartered in the state of Florida doing business in Florida,” Burrow said. “The only way we’re going to grow is if the communities that we work and live in grow along with us.”
The event closed with a raffle for a two-night stay at the Florida Hotel, and attendees received complimentary copies of the new Invest: Greater Orlando 4th Edition publication.
Access the new Invest: Greater Orlando publication here!
Stay tuned for more photos from the event, and follow caa’s YouTube channel to watch the panel discussions from the Invest: Greater Orlando Leadership Summit.
About caa & Invest: Greater Orlando
caa is an integrated media platform producing in-depth business intelligence through its annual print and digital economic reviews, high-impact events, and exclusive video interviews via its platform, Invest:Insights.
Invest: Greater Orlando 4th Edition is an in-depth economic review of the key issues facing the Central Florida region, featuring exclusive insights from more than 200 economic leaders, sector insiders, elected officials and institutional heads. The publication aims to equip local, national and international investors with comprehensive insights on the region and to promote Greater Orlando as a competitive, innovative and collaborative place to do business.
The report takes a deep dive into the region’s top economic sectors, including real estate, construction, infrastructure, banking and finance, legal, healthcare, education and tourism. It also analyzes the leading challenges facing the market and uncovers emerging opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs and innovators.
For more information, please contact:
Ana Karen Gonzalez
Executive Director
267-817-7281
Want more? Read the Invest: Greater Orlando report.
