LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI) Tuesday officially launched TechFirst, an industry network created to congregate technology business leaders to support, inform and develop meaningful growth initiatives within the region’s technology industry.

The mission of TechFirst is to support and grow Greater Louisville’s tech eco-system through the development of talent pipelines, a strong innovation culture, and strategic resources.

“The tech industry plays a crucial role in the Greater Louisville economy and will so even more as we work to rebuild our community from the impact of COVID-19,” said Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, president and CEO of GLI.

Focus areas of TechFirst:

Economic Development

• Collaborate with Chambers of Commerce and regional economic developers to support business attraction and retention strategies.
• Develop a network of 200 industry leaders as subject matter experts to grow the eco-system and advance business-friendly policies and talent development strategies.

Density

• Initiate the establishment of formalized, physical designations for innovation districts throughout the region.
• Promote virtual and physical platforms that create interconnectedness to support business development, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Talent and Education

• Activate relationships with regional education and training organizations to develop diverse, qualified talent and fill pipeline needs.
• Leverage, nurture and expand existing talent eco-system strategies (e.g. Live in Lou) that target experienced levels of tech talent to increase the overall population of talent.

Culture

• Embrace smart city technologies that invigorate community engagement and demonstrate Louisville’s tech-savvy culture and forward-thinking professionals.
• Showcase Greater Louisville as a community of innovation that celebrates success and failure to accelerate market solutions and enterprise, through five out-of-market press coverage opportunities.

The TechFirst Inaugural Chair is Stacy Griggs, CEO of El Toro Internet Marketing. The visioning committee involved a variety of tech and tech-enabled organizations from across the Louisville Metro Area such as Appriss, V-Soft, Humana, Yum! Brands, Papa John’s International Inc., Republic Bank, the University of Louisville and more.

“It is imperative that we recognize the critically important role technology plays in the Greater Louisville economy and continue to support and embrace its associated opportunities. I am honored to work alongside GLI and industry leaders to ensure our region is doing everything we can to support the ecosystem as it drives innovation across our industry sectors,” said Griggs.

TechFirst will host a virtual informational meeting in September for those interested in engaging and supporting the network. Visit https://www.greaterlouisville.com/techfirst/ for more information and to review the full TechFirst Visioning Report and committee list.