Photo credit: Choose DuPage.

When the Innova team originally planned to attend the DuPage County Regional Business Outlook at Drury Conference Center (presented by Choose DuPage, Mesirow Financial and Ice Miller Legal Counsel), we hadn’t anticipated the full magnitude of the affair. We were delighted that our founder, Roman Kuropas, had been invited to join the Business Leaders Roundtable as a panelist and looked forward to hearing Howard Tullman’s talk.

Upon arriving, we were impressed with the turnout of about 700 people and the elegant venue. After the event kicked off, Lisa Leiter’s commentary and thought-provoking questions — along with the encouraging outlook from Dan Cronin — instilled a sense of confidence that DuPage County is the place to be.

As the agenda unfolded, Howard Tullman’s talk both motivated and inspired. The theme: “we must innovate or we are already left behind” was masterfully delivered. Leiter’s journalistic style tied Tullman’s remarks to the thriving Chicago startup scene and connected the dots to DuPage County’s potential to be the next chapter of the area’s hotbed of startups. This was underscored by a spectacular video highlighting innovation and leadership in DuPage County, which John Carpenter shared.

The “U.S. Market Outlook” presented by Leo Harmon and Peter W. Hegel accentuated DuPage County as a good place to be. The Business Leaders Roundtable concluded the event, as Roman joined panelists Vince Tomkinson and John Carlisle to provide a well-balanced perspective on the forces making today’s DuPage County the powerhouse that it is. The result was a spotlight on innovation that is fostered by vigorous testing and questioning, as well as by cornerstone businesses and startups with ambitious goals.