Living Cities CEO Joe Scantlebury to open Fast Company Impact Council panel

By AI, Created 1:21 PM UTC, June 01, 2026, /AGP/ – Living Cities President and CEO Joe Scantlebury will appear June 2 on the opening mainstage panel at Fast Company’s annual Impact Council meeting in New York. The session will focus on innovation, competitiveness, and how business leaders can help build inclusive economic growth.

Why it matters: - Living Cities is being featured in a forum centered on U.S. innovation and competitiveness at a time when leaders are debating how to sustain economic leadership. - The panel gives Scantlebury a national stage to frame equitable cities as a driver of long-term growth, wealth building, and shared prosperity.

What happened: - Fast Company selected Living Cities President and CEO Joe Scantlebury for the opening mainstage panel at its annual Impact Council meeting on June 2 in New York. - Scantlebury will appear on “Rebuilding America’s Competitive Edge” alongside Jean-Claude Brizard, President and CEO of Digital Promise, and Deirdre White, CEO of Pyxera Global. - Brendan Vaughan, Editor-in-Chief of Fast Company, will moderate the panel.

The details: - Living Cities has spent 35 years helping U.S. cities become economically viable and vibrant places where people can earn a living, own a home or business, and build wealth. - Scantlebury will discuss Living Cities’ work as an Action Engine for Equitable Cities. - The panel will examine the future of American innovation and competitiveness. - Discussion will focus on the role business leaders play in strengthening ecosystems that drive economic growth, innovation, and societal progress. - Scantlebury said Living Cities has proven that inclusive and profitable economic ecosystems can be built, invested in, and scaled. - Scantlebury said he is honored to join the conversation about how leaders can build conditions for long-term innovation and shared prosperity. - The Fast Company Impact Council is an invite-only group of executives, founders, and leaders focused on innovation and progress. - This year’s meeting theme is “The United States of Innovation.” - The theme examines the role innovation has played in U.S. economic leadership and what is needed to sustain that position in a more competitive global landscape. - The meeting comes on the eve of the country’s 250th anniversary. - Discussions will address where the U.S. stands globally, what is at stake if momentum slows, and how leaders can shape the next era of competitiveness. - Living Cities is a member collaborative of philanthropic foundations and financial institutions committed to closing income and wealth gaps in the United States. - Living Cities also works to build an economy that works for everyone. - For 35 years, Living Cities has advanced policy and systems changes nationwide to promote profitable and inclusive wealth-building. - The organization addresses barriers to capital investment through knowledge sharing and collective action among members, partners, and a network of city leaders. - More information is available at Living Cities.

Between the lines: - Fast Company is using the Impact Council to connect innovation talk with practical questions about who benefits from economic growth. - Living Cities’ inclusion on the opening panel signals that equitable development is being presented as part of the competitiveness agenda, not separate from it.

What’s next: - Scantlebury will take the stage on June 2 during Fast Company’s annual Impact Council meeting. - The panel discussion is expected to add to the debate over how U.S. leaders can preserve innovation leadership while broadening access to wealth and opportunity.

The bottom line: - Fast Company is elevating Living Cities’ message that inclusive growth and competitiveness can advance together.