Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, left) and Commerce Secretary David Adams sit during an announcement on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Secretary of Commerce David Adams remains both CEO and president of Indiana’s controversial Economic Development Corp. — five months after lawmakers directed Gov. Mike Braun to split the roles across two appointees.
But that’s expected to change next month, according to the Commerce Office.
“We have been evaluating the role of president and anticipate an announcement by the end of October,” a spokesperson told the Capital Chronicle.
The changes were tucked into Senate Enrolled Act 516, an economic development law that also created an entrepreneurship office on Braun’s behalf, plus established land notification and other transparency requirements for the IEDC.
Until Braun’s May 1 signature, the secretary of commerce was required to be the agency’s CEO and president. But legislators crossed “and president” out of Indiana Code.
They added: “The governor shall appoint the president of the (IEDC), who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The president shall report to the secretary of commerce.” The edits were effective immediately.
Throughout the summer, however, Braun’s administration didn’t name an appointee to serve alongside Adams or offer specifics on a timeline, despite the Capital Chronicle’s repeated requests for information.
The Commerce Office’s Thursday statement didn’t include responses to questions of whether the administration was aware of the changes, the reasoning behind them or about the delay in compliance.
The law’s author — Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon — said the idea came out of collaboration with Braun’s fledgling administration. The governor took office in January after former Gov. Eric Holcomb’s eight-year tenure.
“We worked with Secretary Adams and his staff, the governor’s office and the Legislature,” Buchanan said. “We all worked cooperatively, essentially, to come up to try to set up the best structure for IEDC to be successful.”
Splitting the roles, he said, allows “a little more focus,” to “build on our strengths and improve our weaknesses, and really dedicate the time it needs in order to to make sure we’re successful.”
The changes reset the provision to its original form.
Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, chats with a colleague on the Senate floor on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Indiana had a traditional commerce department until 2005. That’s when, under former Gov. Mitch Daniels, lawmakers created the IEDC: “a body politic and corporate, not a state agency but an independent instrumentality exercising essential public functions,” per Indiana Code.
IEDC was established with two leaders, according to the 2005 law, House Enrolled Act 1003. They were merged in a 2021 law, House Enrolled Act 1418, under former Gov. Eric Holcomb. Under Braun, the roles are going back to the original design.
“I did ask that question about, ‘Does it need to be statute, or can it be administratively done?’” Buchanan recalled. “And I was told it is something that needs to be statute.”
The appointment will come within weeks of the release of a report about the IEDC and its partners.
Braun launched the investigation in May, after Indiana Legislative Insight’s April publication of allegations like self-dealing and side gigs.
The troubled agency, its foundation arm and several frequent collaborators were each dubbed an “entity of interest.” The analysis, conducted by Washington, D.C.-based FTI Consulting, took about four months — less than the year allotted in the $800,000 contract.
Braun led IEDC’s board in a unanimous approval of the report’s release at a Wednesday meeting. It’s undergoing legal review for redactions but is already driving new policies on investment, board voting and beyond.
That was the board’s second gathering in its new form. Braun remade it in June, replacing Holcomb’s eight selections with nine new appointees.
He has vowed to reform the quasi-public agency to increase transparency.
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