On Monday, Indiana Governor Mike Braun announced he had immediately replaced all eight individuals who had been previously sitting on the board for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) with nine new appointees.
Braun has vowed to reform the agency to increase transparency, which is already undergoing a forensic audit of IEDC’s accounting practices—as well as those of affiliated nonprofits including Elevate Ventures, which is the agency’s spin-off venture capital firm. The audit had been ordered by Braun over concerns about how money had been spent and how the IEDC had managed the Lebanon LEAP project.
Among the new IEDC appointees are Don Lamb, Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Lamb also farms with his family near Lebanon in Boone County. John Gregg, who also is a member of the Indiana State Fair Commission and farms near Sandborn in Knox County, has also been appointed to the IEDC board by Braun.
Gregg also served 16 years in the Indiana General Assembly, including six years serving as Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives. He was also the Democratic Party’s candidate for Indiana governor in 2012 and 2016.
The other seven appointees are:
- Chris King, of Shelbyville – Executive Vice President, Runnebohm Construction, professional engineer specializing in infrastructure design and construction, land entitlement, and project execution.
- Gus Olympidis, of Valparaiso – Owner, Family Express Convenience Stores, Director on several boards dedicated to regional and community development in northwest Indiana throughout career.
- George Thomas, of Granger – Entrepreneur and executive, Adorn, Duo-Form, Lakota Trailers, Misty Harbor Pontoons, Viaggio Pontoon Boats.
- Billie Dragoo, of Indianapolis – Founder and CEO, RepuCare.
- David Fagan, of Portage – International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
- Greg Gibson, of Terre Haute – Entrepreneur in commercial real estate development, hospitality and food service industry, trucking, excavation, coal, solid waste landfill development and waste industry advisory services.
- Richard Waterfield, of Fort Wayne – Chairman of the Board and CEO, Waterfield Enterprises and Waterfield Asset Management, Founder and Managing Principal of Waterfield Private Equity Funds.
Braun will chair the IEDC board, just like past governors. He has previously said more people will be appointed.
“I spent my life building a business here in Indiana, and I know that having an entrepreneurial, high-energy team in your corner makes all the difference. These appointments to the IEDC Board embody the Freedom and Opportunity agenda for IEDC: they hail from communities all around our state, bring experience from across the range of Indiana’s key industries, and each of them knows the importance of growing wages and creating job opportunities for Hoosiers because they’ve done it in their own communities,” said Braun in a press release.
Braun concluded the release by thanking the previous board members, saying their terms ended with the new appointments.
Among the previous IEDC board members included Sue McCloskey, the co-founder of Fair Oaks Farms in northwestern Indiana, as well as Mark Miles, President and CEO of Hulman & Company—which includes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR.
The remaining board members who were replaced on Monday were: Dominic Grote, Michael Kubacki, Fred Merritt, John Thompson and Linda White.
The new members of the board will meet at the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon in a joint gathering with the Indiana Economic Development Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the IEDC.
