The Indiana Economic Development Corporation today announced personnel shifts and new staff appointments. The shifts will be phased in over the coming weeks.
Mindy Kenworthy will assume new responsibilities as IEDC’s director of Central Indiana business development which serves a 29 county region surrounding Indianapolis. Kim Roderer has been named the business development unit’s new manager of operations, after serving for more than three years as a business development coordinator. Garth Brazelton was named the agency’s development finance manager after previously serving as a Senior Financial Analyst. Chris Eckerle will become the new director of life sciences development and Leigh Morris will be the agency’s director of business recruitment for Northwest Indiana. With the exception of Brazelton, all positions fall within the IEDC’s business development unit led by Charles Sparks, vice president of business development.
"We know the moves we are making at IEDC will provide the best service to prospective businesses and expand our mission of attracting new jobs and investment to Indiana,” said Mitch Roob, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “We’re also excited to welcome two new team members who will bring valued expertise to our efforts."
Morris, currently a Deputy Commissioner with the Indiana Department of Transportation, will become IEDC’s first Director of Business Recruitment for Northwest Indiana. He will focus on business development efforts in Northwest Indiana serving alongside Jim Staton, IEDC’s director of business development in the region. Morris, who served more than 20 years as the president and chief executive officer of the La Porte Regional Health System, is the current chairman of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. Formerly the Mayor of the city of La Porte, Morris is a graduate of Ball State University and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
Kenworthy, who joined IEDC in 2007, assumes the office vacated by former Central Indiana region director, Jason Hester. She will oversee business attraction and retention efforts throughout Central Indiana in addition to her current role as director of new business development. Kenworthy’s nearly 15 years of experience in economic development includes time leading the business retention and expansion efforts of the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County and most recently as the executive director of the Blackford County Economic Development Corporation.
Roderer will manage the IEDC’s sites and building database. The database is a searchable and sortable source for information on available properties within the state. Prior to joining IEDC in 2006, Roderer served as a staffing specialist at Elwood Staffing.
Brazelton manages a team of IEDC account managers to facilitate incentives for job creation and new investment in the state. He also has overseen recent technology and process improvements at the agency. Prior to joining the IEDC in 2005, he served as an economist with the U.S. Department of Transportation in Cambridge, Mass. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Purdue University and a Master’s degree in economics from Indiana University in Indianapolis.
Eckerle will join the IEDC filling the agency’s director of life sciences development post. Eckerle received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. Formerly at BioCrossroads, Eckerle most recently served as the program director of Health and Human Services at the state of Indiana’s Office of Management and Budget.
Since 2005, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation has received commitments from more than 900 companies projecting to create nearly 116,000 new jobs and invest more than $23 billion in capital investment. Additionally, a June Wall Street Journal article noted that Indiana is leading the nation in private sector job growth in 2010, with more than 55,000 new jobs added since the beginning of the year.
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