Leaders push for “mega-region” collaboration

The Upstate is in the middle of a push for businesses to capitalize on the emerging “mega-region” between Charlotte and Atlanta, said officials at the Upstate SC Forum at BMW Zentrum Tuesday.
The so-called mega-region, created mainly by Atlanta, Greenville and Charlotte, needs to focus on infrastructure, emerging regional clusters, training and retraining and energy and influence, said Ted Abernathy, the director of the Southern Growth Policies Board and event moderator.
Hal Johnson, president and CEO of Upstate SC Alliance; Ronnie Bryant, president and CEO of Charlotte Regional Partnership; and Sam Williams, president of Metro Atlanta Chamber were panelists at the Upstate Forum to discuss regional growth.
“We need to learn to work more like businesses as we cross over state lines,” Johnson said.