Visit Raleigh's longtime CEO announces retirement, RDU buys a new office building to keep up with its growing staff, and North Carolina cracks the top 10 in the nation for innovation. Plus, a few thoughts on starting a podcast, and the events you need on your calendar this week.

Links & more

• Subscribe to BizBrief: https://6am.city/ralbizbrief
• Visit Raleigh CEO Dennis Edwards to retire (Business NC) — https://businessnc.com/visit-raleigh-ceo-edwards-announces-retirement-plans/
• RDU buys new office building near the airport (The News & Observer) — https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article317183132.html#new_tab
• Downtown Raleigh Alliance's 2026 State of Downtown awards — https://downtownraleigh.org/post/imprint-awards-2026
• Durham & Raleigh lead the nation in multifamily permitting (CRE Daily) — https://www.credaily.com/briefs/us-multifamily-permitting-shifts-toward-smaller-metros/
• NC backs 46 small businesses with tech grants (North State Journal) — https://nsjonline.com/article/2026/09/nc-companies-receive-grants-totaling-2-4m/
• Raleigh Chamber's Emerging Leaders fall cohort — https://www.raleighchamber.org/emerging-leaders.html
• NC ranks #9 in the nation for innovation (The Carolina Journal) — https://www.carolinajournal.com/nc-ranks-among-top-10-states-for-innovation/
• Read Jason's full podcasting interview — https://6amcity.com/nc/raleigh/business/how-to-start-a-podcast-with-jason-gillikin
• Triangle Content Creators Meetup — https://www.meetup.com/raleigh-podcasting-meetup-group/
• Launchpad's fall incubator cohorts (Greenville, Columbia, virtual) — https://launchpadtv.com/locations/virtual-worldwide-cohort
• Podcast recommendation: How to Wake Up Your Business — https://open.spotify.com/show/7gb29vQ4hZbXrx2VquUtto
• Full events calendar — https://6amcity.com/nc/raleigh/events#/
• Office space listings (lease/sale) — BizBriefRaleigh.com
• Connect with Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasongillikin/

The BizBrief Podcast is produced by Walk West. To grow your brand through content creation and AI enablement, contact us at https://www.walkwest.com/bizbrief.