At the Great Lakes Economic Forum today, which is taking place in Detroit, Michigan, the Council of the Great Lakes Region and the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation announced their collaborative partnership that will focus on developing the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs using technology and big data to protect and restore the Great Lakes.

“The Foundation’s work related to supporting and growing small and medium sized family enterprises and bringing people and innovation together for a healthier Great Lakes is extraordinary,” said Mark Fisher, CEO of the Council of the Great Lakes Region. “The partnership announced today will allow both organizations to leverage and expand their capabilities, relationships and interests in these areas in order to achieve a greater impact within the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region.”

“We are very pleased to be partnering with the Council of the Great Lakes Region,” said Philippe III de Gaspé Beaubien, President and CEO of the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation. “Partnerships like this one are important to our mission of championing emerging innovation and entrepreneurship while bringing together stakeholders from multiple sectors, jurisdictions and generations to create sustainable change within communities.”

Over the next three years, the organizations will collaborate to fulfill their joint mission of protecting and restoring the bi-national Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Region by harnessing its economic strengths safely and sustainably.