LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham interviewing Steph Raymond, President of PPL Electric Utilities, for the executive video interview series. (photo courtesy Caitlin Brady, PPL Electric Utilities)

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) will be launching a second series of video interviews highlighting recently-appointed corporate leaders at some of the largest and most prestigious companies and employers in the Lehigh Valley.

LVEDC had previously released 10 video interviews featuring Lehigh Valley executives, which were released from September to November of last year. The series was so well-received by the community, and there have been so many new leaders named in the past 18 to 24 months, that LVEDC had decided to produce and release additional interviews.

“Our series sought to introduce the region’s new corporate leaders to the broader community, who were unable to meet or network with them in traditional settings due to COVID-19 restrictions,” said LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham. “Our viewers so enjoyed having direct access to these leaders and hearing their thoughts and visions for the Lehigh Valley that we immediately started making plans for another series of interviews.”

The new videos will be released weekly starting in September on LVEDC’s website, Facebook page, and were made available for later viewing on the LVEDC website and YouTube channel. The previous videos are also accessible on the YouTube channel and LVEDC’s blog.

Executives who will be featured in the upcoming series include:

• Gunnar Brunius, Vice President & General Manager Lehigh Valley Operations of Mack Trucks
• Rick Bucher, Chief Executive Officer of Victaulic
• Shelly McWilliams, President of Lehigh Valley Plastics
• Steph Raymond, President of PPL Electric Utilities
• Sarah Santos, President of Cigars International
• Julien Sauvagnargues, President of Olympus Corporation of the Americas
• Angelo Valetta, President & Chief Executive Officer of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania

The previous series included interviews with leaders from such companies as B. Braun, Capital BlueCross, Crayola, FL Smidth, Follett, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, PPL Corporation, and Sharp Packaging Solutions, among others.

Each video interview is a 30-minute, one-on-one conversation between Cunningham and the executives about who they are, their thoughts on leadership, the companies they lead, and doing business in the Lehigh Valley.

The series is being recorded and produced by Countess Communications, a Lehigh Valley video and media firm. There will be no in-person audience for the interviews, which will adhere to public health and social distancing standards.

Sponsorships are still available for the upcoming executive video interview series. For more information about sponsorships, contact Liz Martin, LVEDC Director of Marketing, at lmartin@lehighvalley.org

Current sponsors for the series include:

• Lehigh Valley Health Network – Presenting Sponsor
• Capital BlueCross – Premier Sponsor
• Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba – Gold Sponsor
• Boyle Construction – Event Sponsor
• Klunk & Millan Advertising – Event Sponsor
• Olympus Corporation of the Americas – Event Sponsor
• Countess Communications – Production Sponsor