Earlier today, Tuesday, February 15, eight business leaders from a mix of industries and sectors took the stage at World Cafe Live at the Queen in downtown Wilmington. They spoke for five minutes each about best practices on issues such as customer relations, leadership, and community engagement. The goal: to share 90 ideas in 90 minutes.

These rapid-fire talks, organized by the Delaware Business Times, aimed to generate fresh ideas and provide valuable advice to attendees. More than 120 people attended, themselves from a diverse mix of local businesses and civic organizations.

The result was an overview of the business community as well as Delaware itself. Downtown redevelopment, innovative transportation projects, secondary education and youth engagement were among the wide range of issues highlighted.

Here is a list of the speakers:

• Michael P. Kelly - chairman, McCarter & English, LLP
• Dr. Carrie Gray - managing director, Wilmington Renaissance Corporation
• Stuart Baron - president, Delaware College of Art and Design
• John Van Gorp - senior VP of planning and business development at Bayhealth Medical Center
• Donna Covington - dean of the College of Business, Delaware State University
• Brian DiSabatino - president, EDiS Company
• Marissa Facciolo - VP senior wealth director, BNY Wealth Management
• Jennifer Cohen - Secretary of Delaware Department of Transportation

Our upcoming print edition (due out Feb. 21) will include an insert outlining each of the speakers' talks.