GPEC named top economic development organization for fifth straight year

Published: 05/10/2021

Site Selection announces 2021 Mac Conway Awards 

For the fifth year in a row, we have received a 2021 Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development by Site Selection magazine. The Mac Conway Award, named in honor of Site Selection founding publisher, H. McKinley “Mac” Conway, is awarded to the top 20 local and regional U.S. economic development groups of 2020.   

“2020 was a difficult year for everyone, but I’m incredibly proud of the team, our investors and partners, and the Greater Phoenix community for their collaboration and resiliency,” says Chris Camacho, president & CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “It’s an honor to once again be recognized as a top national economic development organization and we share this distinction with our 22 member communities, Maricopa County, and 180 private investors who we work alongside to advance Greater Phoenix’s economy and competitiveness.” 

2021 Mac Conway Award winners were determined by an index that examines 2020 corporate facility investment as tracked by Site Selection’s proprietary Conway Projects database. Scores are awarded based on six criteria: total projects, total investment associated with those projects and jobs associated with those projects. The remaining three criteria represent a per capita calculation of those same metrics. 

In Site Selection’s May 2007 issue, they named GPEC as an “Honorable Mention North American Groups of 2006” in the “Top Economic Development Groups in America.” GPEC was named a Top EDO by Site Selection for the first time in 2016, when the award was renamed from “Top Economic Development Groups in America” to “Mac Conway Award for Excellence in Economic Development.” 

“In some ways this has been the finest hour for the economic development community,” says Kenny McDonald, president and CEO of One Columbus, the economic development organization for the Columbus, Ohio region. McDonald served as 2020 Chairman of Board of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). 

Read the full list of winners.