EDITOR'S VIEW

ots of credit is bestowed in this issue on successful economic development groups at the state level (see “The Competitiveness Awards” coverage) and at the local or regional level (see “Top Groups”). This is, after all, our annual Area Developers issue, complete with the Directory of Economic Development Agencies, a more comprehensive version of which appears on www.siteselection.com.

   But our first constituency, the corporate real estate managers and other executives who make up our circulation, is no less important. If it weren’t for their input, there’s no telling which areas would be getting recognition for business-expansion activity in 2007. Keep that thought in the back of your mind as you read about the Top Deals of 2007. What if Toyota had picked Chattanooga over the Tupelo, Miss., area for its newest North American assembly plant? The giant ThyssenKrupp steel plant came within a hair’s breadth of going to St. James, La., instead of Mount Vernon, Ala. Eight states were considered seriously by Rolls Royce before the site selection team settled on Prince George County, Va.

   Now consider the work that went on behind the scenes by those charged with siting such projects as ArcelorMittal’s US$24-billion investment in India; the $4-billion Fab City, also in India; or Hanjin Heavy Industries’ 20,000-job, $2-billion shipyard in the Philippines – which are among the Top Deals outside North America covered in this issue.

   Projects you oversee at your company are no less important to your company than the almost-larger-than-life projects referenced here are to those companies. Therefore, recognizing the leadership and expertise required of those managing real estate and making strategic, capital-intensive location decisions is no less important than recognizing the area developers that won the projects.

   This is why Site Selection is inaugurating the Excellence in Corporate Real Estate Awards, which will be covered in the September issue and presented at the IAMC Fall 2008 Professional Forum in Oklahoma City (www.iamc.org).

The point of the awards is to provide the opportunity for you to nominate a colleague – boss, peer or direct report – for excellence they have demonstrated in one of several areas: sustainability, overall project return, innovation or process improvement, alignment of the real estate function with corporate strategy, portfolio management and managerial leadership. Service providers and economic developers are welcome to nominate clients, as well.

   Visit www.siteselection.com/ecreaward for how to get started. (The original mid-April deadline has been postponed to the end of May.)

   I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to shine the spotlight on a well-deserving colleague. Looking back on your career down the road, you’ll be glad you did.

   Till next time,

   Mark Arend