Preview: Future of Florida Forum draws hundreds to annual conversation

ORLANDO – Florida’s long-term outlook still trends toward growth, but 2023 will be a year of uncertainty with pressures from the insurance industry, housing costs, the threat of a national recession and the labor supply putting pressure on the economy, says Florida Chamber of Commerce President Mark Wilson. “No one can predict how all these things put into a blender are going to shake out,” he adds.

More than 700 business leaders from around the state – and hundreds more attending virtually – will gather in Orlando Monday and Tuesday to consider the possibilities of Florida's economic trajectory from the equivalent of the 15th largest global economy to reaching the top 10 by 2030. Among the steps Florida needs to take to expand its economy: create 2 million net new jobs, grow its manufacturing base; ramp up international trade and research and development activities; and expand the talent pipeline. Exactly how that happens will be the topic of discussion over the next two days.

The Florida 2030 Blueprint is the chamber’s plan to get the state to its economic goals over the next few years. Conversations on this year’s agenda will look both local with a focus on rural economic development and global with Florida’s potential as a growing center of international trade and investment.

“Despite all the uncertainty, we still have to unite together to get our true north,” Wilson says. “If you are lost in the middle of a storm, but if you have a compass. You have to rely on your instruments. The only thing I can do is trust what my gauge tells me.”

Learn more about the Future of Florida Forum, the chamber’s annual meeting, and details on the agenda at https://www.flchamber.com/f32022. The chamber has held the event since 2006; Florida Trend is a sponsor of the event.