2023 Coachella Valley Business Conference & Economic Forecast

Welcome

V. Manuel Perez F ourth D istrict S upervisor R iverside C ounty B oard of S upervisors

It is an honor and privilege to welcome you to the sixth annual Coachella Valley Business Conference & Economic Forecast!

Hosted by the Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians and presented by the Riverside County Office of Economic Development and Beacon Economics, this conference focuses on economic growth and business development. Keynote speaker Dr. Christopher Thornberg, along with our guest speakers, led by our very own Riverside County Executive Officer, Jeff Van Wagenen, will give detailed forecasts on how our region, county, and state are performing economically. They will share insight on what is on the horizon in terms of future growth at local, regional, state, and federal levels. Economic development and job creation are major focuses for my office and the county as a whole. Investing in our community and growing and diversifying our county’s economy creates a better future for all families and residents of Riverside County.

Thank you for joining us. Enjoy the program!

Agenda

7:30 am

BUSINESS EXPO/NETWORKING & BREAKFAST BUFFET

8:30 am

MASTER OF CEREMONIES S uzanne H olland Director, Riverside County Office of Economic Development PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE G lenn M iller Councilmember, City of Indio A MESSAGE FROM OUR HOST D oug W elmas Chairman, Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians A MESSAGE FROM RIVERSIDE COUNTY S upervisor V. M anuel P erez Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Fourth District

F eatured G uest J eff V an W agenen County Executive Officer, County of Riverside

REMARKS

J ohn P age Senior Vice President, Acrisure Arena, Coachella Valley Firebirds, & OVG360 Facilities

H ilda K ennedy President, AmPac Business Capital

B ruce A. S her Head of Business Development, LG ThinQ Energy Solution S cott W hite President & CEO, Visit Greater Palm Springs

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ECONOMIC FORECAST

D r . C hristopher T hornberg Founding Partner, Beacon Economics

CLOSING REMARKS

Keynote Speaker Christopher Thornberg, PhD F ounding P artner , B eacon E conomics

Christopher Thornberg Ph.D. founded Beacon Economics LLC in 2006. Under his leadership the firm has become one of the most respected research organizations in California serving public and private sector clients across the United States. Dr. Thornberg also served as Director of the UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development and was an Adjunct Professor at the School from 2015-2023.

An expert in economic and revenue forecasting, regional economics, economic policy, and labor and real estate markets, Dr. Thornberg has consulted for private industry, cities, counties, and public agencies in Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Bay Area, San Diego, the Inland Empire, Seattle, Orange County, Sacramento, Nevada, and other geographies across the nation. Recent and ongoing projects include housing and rent control studies for the California Apartment Association; quarterly regional economic outlooks for the East Bay Economic Development Alliance; a recession recovery plan for the City and County of San Francisco; an annual economic assessment of LA’s city council districts for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; an analysis of the local technology industry for the Santa Cruz County Workforce Development Board; and an economic impact study for the 2024 Los Angeles Olympic Games Committee. Dr. Thornberg became nationally known for forecasting the subprime mortgage market crash that began in 2007, and was one of the few economists on record to predict the global economic recession that followed. Well known for his ability to capture and hold audiences, Dr. Thornberg has presented to hundreds of leading business, government, and nonprofit organizations across the globe including Chevron, The New Yorker, Colliers International, the California Chamber of Commerce, City National Bank, the California State Association of Counties, State Farm Insurance, the City of Los Angeles, the California and Nevada Credit Union League, and the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, among many others. He has testified before the U.S. Congress House Committee on Financial Services on municipal debt issues, before the California State Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation regarding rule changes related to Proposition 13, and before the Los Angeles City Council about proposed changes to local minimum wage laws. Dr. Thornberg is a contributor to monthly economics polls published by Reuters. He also serves on the Boards of Directors of both the California Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and is an Executive Member of the Central City Association (Los Angeles) and a member of the California Association for Local Economic Development. Prior to launching Beacon Economics, Dr. Thornberg was a senior economist with UCLA’s Anderson Forecast. He previously taught in the MBA program at UCLA’s Anderson School, in the Rady School of Business at UC San Diego, and at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. He has also held a faculty position in the economics department at Clemson University. A well-known media commentator, Dr. Thornberg has appeared on all the major networks, CNN, NPR, and is regularly quoted in major national dailies including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. | www.beaconecon.com

Featured Guest

Jeff Van Wagenen C ounty E xecutive O fficer , C ounty of R iverside

Jeff Van Wagenen is the County Executive Officer for Riverside County. He has After beginning his career working in the District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor, Van Wagenen opened a criminal defense law firm in 2000. As a specialist in criminal law, certified by the State Bar of California, Van Wagenen handled Jeff Van Wagenen has served the residents of Riverside County in one capacity or another for more than 25 years, including three years as Assistant CEO.

many of the County’s most serious and high-profile cases. During this time, he was often asked to serve as a Judge Pro Tem in the Superior Court, handling felony and misdemeanor matters. In 2011, Van Wagenen returned to the DA’s Office to serve as an Assistant District Attorney and was assigned the countywide administration of the office. To these relatively unique experiences (as the administrator of a large law office, a prosecutor, a defense attorney, and a judge pro tem), he added the Managing Director of Riverside County’s Economic Development Agency (EDA) in late 2014. Among other things, RivCo EDA (now called the Office of Economic Development) works to enhance the economic position of the county’s residents and businesses.

Suzanne Holland started her career with the County of Riverside 27 years ago and has served as an Executive in Economic Development, Finance, Library and Community Services. Her diverse background has been instrumental in providing public service to Riverside County residents as well as fostering economic vitality for the growing region. In addition to being the Director of the Office of Economic Development, Holland also serves as the Library Director for the Riverside County Suzanne Holland D irector , R iverside C ounty O ffice of E conomic D evelopment Van Wagenen lives with his wife and two children in the city of Riverside. Master of Ceremonies

Library System (RCLS) with 36 library branches countywide. She is also the Special District Director for over 62 special districts utilizing financing programs for municipal services to enhance the community. Her experience includes utilizing resources effectively and efficiently to solve community issues and developing sustainable programming to benefit the residents of Riverside County. After earning her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Riverside, Suzanne continued her education and earned her Master of Arts in Leadership and Organizational Studies from California Baptist University. She has spearheaded projects such as Enhanced Infrastructure Finance Districts, Tourism Recovery Campaign and Public-Private Partnerships, which included three new libraries and programs that have received numerous awards and recognition.

Holland resides in Norco, CA with her husband and two beautiful daughters. Suzanne and husband, Rod, celebrated their 31 st wedding anniversary in December of 2022.

Guest Speakers

John Page S enior V ice P resident , A crisure A rena , C oachella V alley F irebirds & OVG360 F acilities John Page joined Oak View Group in January 2023 as the Senior Vice President of Acrisure Arena, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and OVG360 Facilities. He is responsible for management and oversight of the company’s newly opened owned-and-operated venue Acrisure Arena, AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, and regional responsibility for OVG360, OVG’s full-service venue management company.

With more than 30 years of live event and sports industry experience, before joining OVG, Page served as president of Spectra, which was acquired by OVG in November of 2021. While there he supported 10,000 employees across the company’s portfolio. Prior to his role at Spectra, Page served as president/senior vice president of booking and content at Comcast Spectacor/Spectra. While there, he was responsible for all facets of day-to-day operation of Wells Fargo Center including premium seating; advertising, sales, sponsorship; and operations, as well as the $300M renovation of the facility to create a “best-in-class” venue for eventgoers. His career also includes a decade as chief operating officer (COO) with Global Spectrum, and as senior vice president of event production Wells Fargo Center & Spectrum where he managed teams including operations, security, box office operations, parking, premium services. Page holds both a bachelor of science and a master of science in public administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and has been nominated ten times by Pollstar as Facility Executive of the Year.

Hilda Kennedy P resident , A m P ac B usiness C apital

Hilda Kennedy is the founder and President of AmPac Business Capital, a non profit community lender on a mission to finance and foster business success from cradle to legacy. Established in 2005, AmPac started providing business loans in partnership with the US Small Business Administration in 2007. AmPac has provided real estate, equipment acquisition, tenant improvement, ground up construction and refinance loans for businesses throughout the state of California totaling almost a BILLION dollars. AmPac has served businesses in many industries from, manufacturing, distribution, and warehouse to hospitality, restaurants, medical, assisted living, and many other related industries ranging from $250,000 to greater than $20 Million.

AmPac provides direct community loans for small businesses as a CDFI and SBA Community Advantage and Micro lender and through partnerships with local governments.

Kennedy has received numerous honors and recognition at the local, state, and national levels. Kennedy was designated Ambassador for Inland Empire Women in Manufacturing bringing greater awareness to women in the region about the significant contributions of women Makers – Manufacturers. She was selected as Woman of the Year by Congresswoman Judy Chu. Hilda is V.P. of Regulatory for the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO), she is on the Board of Trustees of Cal Baptist University, Riverside, and is a past President of the National Association of Women Business Owners – Inland Empire Chapter and California, representing 11 chapters throughout the State.

Bruce A. Sher H ead of B usiness D evelopment , LG T hin Q E nergy S olution Bruce A. Sher, is the team Leader of ThinQ Energy Business at LG Electronics, Inc., has several past roles including SVP Smart Buildings Division Leader at Selex ES, a division of Leonardo. Sher also held the position of VP, Energy Services at Weston Solutions where he led an engineering team responsible for integrated energy management and environmental solutions. He also served as Co-Founder of Viridity Energy, Inc. and was Vice President and Regional Business Leader at Constellation NewEnergy, where he performed supply sourcing, demand side programs, and

innovative renewable projects. Mr. Sher has received honorable awards including Scientific Atlanta Distributor of the Year, Manufacturing Partner of the Year, and frequently speaks at association and clean energy technology conferences. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in BioPhysics from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science degree in Energy Management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Scott White P resident & CEO, V isit G reater P alm S prings (VGPS)

Scott White, a native of California, White has more than 25 years of hospitality and destination marketing leadership experience. White serves on Governor Newsom’s California Travel and Tourism Commission as well as the Executive Committee of Destinations International, the California Travel Association Political Action Committee, and the board of the U.S. Travel Association. White’s visionary leadership of VGPS has helped to attract millions of visitors and billions of dollars to Greater Palm Springs and the local economy.

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SoCalGas ® recognizes Riverside County Economic Development - Coachella Valley Business and Economic Forecast for its dedication to opening new doors for businesses and creating new possibilities for our communities. Businesses are a cornerstone of our community and their owners are local heroes. They create jobs, provide goods and services and make a difference every day. Lear more at soc lgas.com/community SoCalGas ® recognizes Riverside County Economic Development - Coachella Valley Business and Economic Forecast for its dedication to opening new doors for businesses and creating new possibilities for our communities. Businesses are a cornerstone of our community and their owners are local heroes. They create jobs, provide goods and services and make a difference every day.

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