When the new Pittsburgh International Airport opened to rave industry and consumer reviews in 1992, it provided a foundation for a new era of transportation, commerce, and economic development for Western Pennsylvania.
In the 26 years since then, one of the primary challenges facing local political and business leaders has been determining what sustainable steps must be taken in order to fulfill the vast potential of the Airport corridor, to provide a thriving area around the airport for transportation, employment, and infrastructure to thrive and grow.
Since December of 2017, that challenge has fallen squarely in the lap of veteran business leader Chris Heck, the President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber’s mission is to ensure that all 34 Pittsburgh-area communities, spanning from the Fort Pitt Tunnels all the way through Beaver County, are in the best position possible to grow and prosper as a result of the myriad opportunities presented by a (pardon the pun) top-flight airport. An airport that, along with Allegheny County Airport, supports $29 billion in business revenue for the region, including employment numbers that well exceed 100,000 jobs.
No small task for Chris, to say the least.
And it never hurts to have a little bit of help in this endeavor. October saw the development of the Airport Area Corporate Partnership, a groundbreaking organization in which the Chamber, along with Robert Morris University and the Allegheny County Airport Authority brought together over 30 of the region’s heaviest hitters in business and industry to come together as a single, undeniable voice of testimony to the corridor as a more than viable option for new business to thrive and prosper.
It’s an exciting new venture that Chris will discuss on this edition of “The Raja Show”, as Chris joins Raja in studio to break down the organization’s mission, how this came to be, how they will go about fulfilling the promise and potential of the corridor as a true economic driver for Western Pennsylvania.
Listen to Raja’s interview with Chris here.
