2019 was a solid year in economic development for the Birmingham region. There were 32 projects with 1,180 jobs and $492.2 million in capital investment announced this year, and, halfway through 2019, the region reached and then surpassed its pre-recession height of employment.

But now, at the dawn of a new year and a new decade, the question is a challenging one: Where do we go from here as a region? And how can we do better?

Those questions were the focus of the Birmingham Business Alliance’s (BBA) 2019 Chairwoman’s Annual Meeting, held on December 11 at The Lyric Theatre. At the event, BBA Interim President and CEO Fred McCallum revealed a new mission for the BBA, a new regional shared vision and a more focused approach to economic development as the BBA moves into 2020 and the second decade of its existence.

The priorities of the BBA’s strategic framework include leading job creation, retention and recruitment; cultivating business climate and culture; and providing regional operational services for the seven counties it serves. The BBA will concentrate on the life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and technology industries, three sectors also emphasized in the Building (it) Together report and the Alabama Department of Commerce’s state economic development plan.

McCallum will continue to lead the BBA until a new President and CEO is found in 2020, serving alongside BBA 2020 chairman and Brasfield & Gorrie CEO James Gorrie, who accepted the gavel from 2019 chairwoman Nancy Goedecke, chairwoman of Mayer, at the event.

“We’re on a good trajectory. I feel good about where we are as a community,” McCallum said. “Our leadership is strong. Our public leadership is strong. Our private leadership is strong. I feel good about where the BBA is focused.”

Here are some 2019 economic development highlights that McCallum pointed to: