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Bloomington-based co-working and entrepreneurship center The Mill has named former Bloomington mayor John Fernandez as its new CEO, the organization announced Wednesday.
Fernandez joined the nonprofit organization in 2023 as its senior vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships. He had been serving as The Mill’s interim CEO since January, when its founding CEO, Pat East, announced his departure.
“Bloomington has always had incredible potential,” Fernandez said in a written statement. “I’m honored to lead this organization as we embrace a new chapter—one focused on innovation, inclusion, and collaboration to help more people and businesses thrive.”
An attorney by training, Fernandez served as Bloomington’s mayor from 1996 to 2003. Between 2009 and 2012, he served under President Barack Obama as assistant secretary of commerce for economic development in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Prior to joining The Mill, he was global chief innovation officer at the law firm Dentons. While there, he also led Nextlaw Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on legal technology.
“John brings the kind of leadership this moment calls for—trusted, clear-eyed, and grounded in community,” The Mill’s board chair, Ravi Bhatt, said in a written statement. “He knows how to build the infrastructure around people doing hard, meaningful work.”
Bhatt is also CEO of Folia, one of the many companies operating out of The Mill.
Founded as a co-working space in 2018, The Mill has gone on to launch several community partnerships and programs designed to strengthen technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in Indiana. Those efforts include:
- Launching the Flywheel Fund, a venture fund which invests in early-stage Indiana startups. To date, the fund has invested in more than 35 companies, including Indianapolis-based Qualifi, ReproHealth Technologies and Chuqlab.
- Establishing innovation-focused programming such as the Crossroads pitch contest and the Propels Accelerator, which helps entrepreneurs commercialize technology developed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, or NSWC, at Crane.
- Offering free technical training through Code/IT Academy, which helps adults learn new skills and land tech-sector jobs.
- Forming partnerships with entities including the City of Bloomington, Indiana University, Ivy Tech Community College, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and NSWC Crane.
- Overseeing the development of the Trades District, a 12-acre innovation hub in Bloomington. The development, which is home to The Mill, also houses a $13 million tech-focused office called The Forge, which opened late last year.
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