The Delaware Business Roundtable is a non-partisan, volunteer consortium of CEOs whose companies collectively employ more than 75,000 people in Delaware.
Since its inception in 1981, the Roundtable’s broad mission has been to enhance the quality of life in Delaware by promoting commerce, job creation and select public policy issues. In recent years, the Roundtable also has been a leading supporter of public education transformation and entrepreneurs in Delaware.
Members include executives from many Delaware companies including Becker Morgan, Group, CSC, ChristianaCare, EDiS Company, Bayhealth, Capital One 360, Delmarva Power, WSFS, M&T Bank, JPMorgan Chase and DuPont.
“We are committed to promoting economic prosperity and growth,” says Executive Director Bob Perkins. “The Roundtable provides leadership on broad public policy issues that are critically important to Delaware’s economy, and we encourage policymakers to relentlessly focus on ways to create jobs and promote commerce statewide.”
The Roundtable was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the creation of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, the public-private economic development body that is working to expand the state’s economy by attracting jobs, talent and capital investment.
Since its inception, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership has put a strong leadership team in place and is busy working to bring jobs to Delaware by welcoming businesses of all sizes and creating an even more welcoming business climate.
These goals align with the Roundtable’s Delaware Growth Agenda, which outlines three overarching goals for the state:
1. Create and nurture an entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
2. Create a new approach to economic development via a public-private partnership.
3. Improve the state’s overall business climate.
To achieve these goals, the Roundtable advocates for public policies that improve the business environment in Delaware, strengthen the state’s long-term finances, bring about meaningful change in public education, provide a focus on opioid/substance abuse in the workplace, and create a safe and welcoming environment in all Delaware communities. The Roundtable also released a report by international consulting firm KPMG that recommended steps Delaware should take to improve its permitting effectiveness and thereby become more competitive in attracting jobs, talent and investment to Delaware. The report led to the creation of the Ready in 6 Coalition, a statewide group of business organizations dedicated to improving Delaware’s competitiveness.
Most recently, the Roundtable published the Delaware Investment Agenda, which made recommendations for growth and prosperity in three major areas: Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Talent and Workforce, and Long-term Competitiveness. The report is a call to Delaware leaders in the public and private sectors to work collaboratively on key issues impacting the state.
