Greater Fort Wayne Inc., the organization that serves as the single‐point‐of‐contact for economic growth in greater Fort Wayne, announces John Urbahns as its Executive Vice President of Economic Development. Urbahns comes to this position with a significant amount of experience having served as the Director of Community Development for the City of Fort Wayne for nearly seven years, and has been with the City since 1996.
As Executive Vice President of Economic Development, Urbahns will lead all efforts relating to business expansion and attraction, entrepreneurship and innovation, downtown development, industry cluster advancement, and product development as it relates to the strategic plan. Urbahns will also work closely with the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership to collaborate and align both tactical actions as well as strategic initiatives in economic development between the two organizations.
“John brings a strong set of economic and community development skills to this role,” stated GFW’s CEO, Mark Becker. “We’re grateful to keep talents such as John’s in the greater Fort Wayne area, he has been instrumental in several major economic development projects, downtown redevelopment, and strategic planning while in his role with the City of Fort Wayne.”
Urbahns holds a Bachelor of Urban Planning and Development degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Design, both from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He also holds an accreditation from the American Institute of Certified Planners and serves on numerous community boards.
“I’m looking forward to working with my peers at GFW that I’ve long collaborated with through Community Development,” said Urbahns. “I’m enthusiastic about continuing my career in economic development, and in particular in greater Fort Wayne. I am eager to start implementing systems and strategies that will impact the economic growth of our community while continuing to collaborate with our partners on community projects.”
Urbahns will start on January 6, 2014 with Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
