What does a Texas kid who went to College in Scotland at the University of St. Andrews know about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce? Quite a lot actually. Old Cityzens, meet Michael!
Michael joined the Chamber of Commerce a little over two years ago to help set up a think tank. Until I met Michael I honestly thought ‘think tanks’ were the fictional wonderlands where one might hear Albus Dumbledore and Gandalf the Grey argue the finer points of wizardry. But Michael set me straight:
“Think Tanks inform the thinking and actions of the American business community as well as build relationships with thought leaders (academics, policy wonks, etc.). What that means is that, while the Chamber is a great advocacy group on stuff that matters in the here and now, we can compliment that by thinking long-term (what’s the future of energy, for instance?) or big picture (what’s innovation?). We do that through good content (via blogs, a magazine, etc.), events, research papers, research surveys, etc.”
Woah. I didn’t think it was possible to make Think Tanks sound cooler than what I had originally thought, but Michael figured out a way. Please join Don Draper and me in a slightly envious round of applause:
When he’s not busy thinking through commerce solutions, Michael can be found enjoying a good book, exploring the wild, wild west, or doing CrossFit at Old City!
Welcome to the family, Michael!