Jason Kloth leads the talent and workforce development initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. Ascend Indiana connects talent to work-based learning opportunities, apprenticeships and jobs, and facilitates partnerships between employers and education institutions. The organization also produces research that helps guide public-policy decisions by lawmakers. Kloth was the founding executive director of Teach for America Indianapolis.
Favorite thing about leading: “The opportunity to work alongside early-in-career individuals who’ve grown into exceptional leaders is one of the great joys of my career.”
Something surprising: “I set a goal in my 30s of visiting all the national parks in the continental United States by my 40th birthday. The experience of completing that goal has shaped my understanding of our country, deepened my appreciation for conservation and provided me with a greater sense of my own insignificance in the context of nature and time.”
Jim Morris, now vice chair of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, has been one of central Indiana’s most influential leaders, starting with his work to help usher in Unigov during his six years as chief of staff for then-Mayor Richard Lugar, and to help create IUPUI and develop Market Square Arena. He served as president of Lilly Endowment Inc., where he earmarked $25 million to help build the Hoosier Dome, and helped establish the Indiana Sports Corp. From 1989-2002, Morris was chair and CEO of Indianapolis Water Co./IWC Resources. From 2002-2005, he served as executive director of the World Food Programme. He returned to Indianapolis to join the Indiana Pacers as president before moving into the role of vice chair of PS&E in 2014. Last year, he retired from the Indiana University board, where he served on and off for several decades, twice as chair.
Edmond O’Neal III leads Northeast Indiana Works, the region’s not-for-profit workforce development organization. O’Neal, who has been with the organization for 13 years, oversees a workforce system that includes 11 WorkOne career centers, a youth development organization and a career service program that assists employers and individuals looking for jobs. He serves on the boards of Star Financial Bank, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, the Greater Fort Wayne Community Foundation, the Questa Education Foundation, Erin’s House for Grieving Children and Catie B Charities. He also serves on the Fort Wayne United Steering Committee.
Job swap: Owning and operating a sneaker store with my son.
Something surprising: “I am really into muscle cars.”
Walk-up song: “Motivation,” by Spiritual Tony
Favorite sports team: Memphis Grizzlies
Mike Pence, who in June announced he’s running for the Republican presidential nomination, served as the nation’s 48th vice president from 2017-2021 after winning on a ticket with Republican Donald Trump. He chaired the National Space Council and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Pence was in his first term as governor of Indiana when Trump picked him to be his running mate. A Columbus native, Pence was elected governor in 2012. He implemented one of the state’s largest tax cuts and increased funding for private-education initiatives. He previously served six terms in the U.S. House representing first Indiana’s 2nd District and then the 6th District. He chaired the Republican Study Committee from 2005 to 2007 and served as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership. In 2021, Pence founded Advancing American Freedom, a policy and advocacy organization “established to promote pro-freedom policies.”
Jeff Rea is president and CEO of both the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce across the state line in Michigan. His team of 15 works with 1,300 member businesses that employ more than 85,000 people. Rea recently has been focused on driving regional economic growth and school improvement. A former mayor of Mishawaka, he helped form the North Central Indiana Regional Development Authority, and he is a founding member of the South Bend Empowerment Zone, a school turnaround effort in the South Bend schools.
Toughest challenge: “I was the youngest mayor in Indiana. During the campaign, I was quickly dismissed because of what some thought related to my age and experience.”
On leadership: “There is a seat at the table for everyone, but they have to show up. I see too many people pop in, expect quick results, then pop out because they didn’t achieve what they wanted.”
Clay Robbins joined Lilly Endowment—a private foundation supporting community development, education and religion—in 1993 as vice president for community development to supervise that division’s grantmaking activities. He was elected president of the endowment in 1994 and in 1999 was elected to the board. In 2012, he was named CEO and about three years later was elected chair as well. He served 30 years on the United Way of Central Indiana board and is a former board member of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee and Damar Homes.
First job: “Beginning at age 11, I delivered, with my younger brother, The Indianapolis News for five years. My grandmother told me it would teach me to make change.”
Something surprising: “In the mid-1970s, I was the first intern for the Indianapolis Clean City Committee, now known as Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.”
Favorite gadget: “The cordless rechargeable hedge trimmer that my brother gave me for Christmas.”
David Rosenberg joined the IEDC in August 2021 and has helped lead the job-creation agency’s team of more than 100. He has overseen creation of the state’s LEAP Innovation and Research District in Boone County and implementation of the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (known as READI), which is distributing $500 million to communities across Indiana for quality-of-life initiatives. Rosenberg, who was chief of staff to former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, serves on the boards of Visit Indy, KIPP Indy and the Boy Scouts Crossroads of America Council.
Learned about leading: “Authenticity is supreme. If you aren’t your true self when leading a team, your team will know, and there will immediately be distrust. You have to be authentic to who you are and not try to be a leader you see from others or movies.”
Change about Indiana: “Our humility. There are so many amazing things going on around the state (many of which are not happening anywhere else in the country), and we need to tell the world what Indiana is truly about.”
Becky Skillman spent four decades in public service, including 16 years as a local elected official in Lawrence County and 12 years in the Indiana Senate. In 2004, she was elected lieutenant governor on a ticket with Republican Mitch Daniels and served two terms, with oversight of the state’s agriculture, community and rural affairs, energy, housing and tourism agencies. She now chairs Radius Indiana, which is an economic development corporation for eight counties in south central Indiana, and is lead director on the Old National Bancorp board.
Advice to young people: “Know who you are and fully understand your value system. If you don’t know what you stand for, there will be many others along life’s journey who will tell you who you are and what you stand for.”
Something surprising: The first woman to represent Indiana Senate District 44, serve in Senate majority leadership and serve eight years as lieutenant governor.
Chuck Surack is the founder and former CEO and chair of Sweetwater Sound, an online retailer of musical instruments and audio equipment that he established in 1979 as a four-track recording studio in the back of his Volkswagen bus. Surack sold a majority share of the company to Providence Equity Partners in 2021 and stepped away to focus on Surack Enterprises, the holding company for his other enterprises, which include SweetCars, Aviation Specialty Insurance, Enstrom Helicopter Corp., Lakeland Internet, Longe Optical and Sweet Aviation.
Indiana change: “I wish people had a more positive attitude and would feel better about Indiana and themselves. I love Indiana. It is a great place for business and to raise your family. Everything we need is here.”
Pets: “Two cats and one dog. Malfoy the cat leaves hair everywhere, but he likes to cuddle. Lucy [is] the cat I never see, yet we pay for food, litter and medical. Wilbur, the four-pound, 11-ounce Maltese dog, is convinced he is a 100-pound watchdog, but he is also a lover.”
John Thompson is CEO of four construction-related companies: Thompson Distribution, First Electric Supply, CMID Engineering and Beyond Countertops. But Thompson, who grew up in a Baltimore housing project and moved to Indianapolis to work for Mays Chemical Co., is as influential for his roles in civic life. He chairs the Indiana Chamber of Commerce board and serves on nearly a dozen other boards, including those of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Indy Chamber, The National Bank of Indianapolis, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and Eskenazi Health Foundation.
Sabbatical topic: “Closing the racial income and wealth gaps!”
First job: “Selling fruits and vegetables from a horse and wagon from 8 years old in my hometown of Baltimore.”
Advice for a young person: “Think and speak up.”
