2025 Centerstate CEO Annual Meeting Recap
By Alex Canavan
Come with us to the CenterState CEO Annual Meeting—an annual event that brings together business leaders across Central New York to celebrate success and explore the future of our regional economy.
Image from Centerstate CEO.
CenterState CEO’s mission is to create a region where business thrives and all people prosper, and this year’s event made it clear: we are on the edge of incredible growth.
Image by centerstate ceo.
We kicked things off by honoring this year’s Businesses of the Year— huge shoutout to our member Heather Loveland, owner of Home Sweet Home, for winning in the under-50-employee category.
visual representation of how micron is going to effect cny’s gdp.
Then we heard from Robert Simpson, who talked about economic projections and recent investments in central new york.
Over the next three years, our economy is projected to grow more than it has in the last sixteen—and that’s not just local hype, it’s part of a national shift, with Central New York receiving some of the largest investments happening anywhere in the country.
Image by centerstate ceo.
After that, Rob sat down for a fireside chat with Annabel Chang, Head of State Policy at Waymo—the company behind fully autonomous, driverless vehicles. These cars operate without a human driver and are equipped with advanced technology that’s constantly learning and updating in real time. Annabel shared how, as a woman and a mother, she feels safer in a Waymo vehicle than in a rideshare—because she’s not at the mercy of a stranger behind the wheel. She also said that Waymo’s are safer, smarter, and constantly improving. Apparently, they are 80% less likely to cause an accident than a human driver is.
We closed the program with a big announcement—the Tech Garden is officially being renamed the Inspyre Innovation Hub, which will become the largest entrepreneurial hub in New York State, right here in Syracuse.
I’m super excited about this, and I can’t wait to hear more about how they plan to support and encourage entrepreneurship in Central New York.
Views from the patio at the brewster inn.
Once the program was over, I did a little networking, and scooted out early to get dinner with a friend at one of my favorite restaurants in central new york, The Brewster Inn.