LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham interviewed Crayola President & CEO Rich Wuerthele for the first entry in LVEDC’s executive virtual interview series.

This article was originally featured in the October 8, 2020 issue of “Quarterly Connections,” a quarterly newsletter LVEDC is distributing to municipal officials in the Lehigh Valley.

Over the last 18 months, more than a dozen new executives have been named to run major employers or institutions in the Lehigh Valley, the highest amount of large employer leadership changeover that the region has seen in decades.

The coronavirus pandemic has limited opportunities for the Lehigh Valley community to meet and get to know these executives, so the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) has been helping introduce them to the region though its new executive video interview series.

Launched in September, LVEDC President & CEO Don Cunningham has been conducting 30-minute, one-on-one interviews with the new executives to learn who they are, their thoughts on leadership, the employers they lead and doing business in the Lehigh Valley.

New videos are released each Thursday on the LVEDC Facebook page. The videos released so far have included interviews with the new leaders of Crayola, Follett LLC, B. Braun, and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network.

“In these challenging times where we can’t gather as we usually do, we thought it would be great if you had an opportunity to meet the new leaders who are shaping the future of the Lehigh Valley, that are running the companies that drive forward the economy,” Cunningham said.

The Lehigh Valley Health Network is the presenting sponsor for the series, with Capital Blue Cross as the premier sponsor. Gold sponsors include BB&T, now Truist and Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba. Crayola and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation are event sponsors for the series; Follett LLC is the interview sponsor, Countess Communications is the production sponsor, and ArtsQuest is the venue sponsor.

Archived video interviews can be found on the LVEDC website and the organization’s YouTube channel. The next video will be released on Oct. 15; no interview will be aired on Oct. 8 due to the congressional forum being held that day.

Videos of the interviews released so far can be found below:

Other upcoming interviews in the LVEDC executive video series will include:

• Kevin Orfan, President of Sharp Packaging U.S.
• Todd Shamash, President & CEO of Capital Blue Cross
• Vince Sorgi, President & CEO of PPL Corp.
• Matt Sorrentino, President & CEO of Health Network Laboratories
• Pat Turner, President of FLSmidth

ArtsQuest provided access to indoor space large enough for safe distancing for the interviews. There is no audience for the interviews, which will adhere to public health and social distancing standards.