Braun planning to dismantle IEDC board, appoint new members

Mike Braun

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun confirmed Thursday that he plans to completely dismantle and reconstruct the board of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. amid his office’s probe into activities of the state agency and its spin-off venture capital firm, Elevate Ventures.

The IEDC is supposed to have a 15-member board of directors, according to the IEDC website. However, just eight board members besides Braun, who serves as board chairman, are listed on the website: Dominic Grote, Michael Kubacki, Sue McCloskey, Fred J. Merritt, Mark D. Miles, Amy Schumacher, John T. Thompson, and Linda E. White.

“I think that board had gotten to be maybe not as active as it should have been,” Braun told reporters at a media gathering, while referencing recent controversial changes he made to Indiana University’s board of trustees. “I’ve got a lot of people interested in it, very similar to the number of people that wanted to become a trustee at IU once we made that change.”

When asked if any current board members would remain on the IEDC board, Braun said, “[I] don’t think so.”

His office will announce some of the new appointees on Monday, he said.

Braun’s administration has enlisted Carmel-based FTI Consulting to conduct the forensic audit of the agency and its affiliated entities. The administration has also frozen all state funds associated with Elevate.

Spending from the IEDC’s affiliated nonprofit, the Indiana Economic Development Foundation, has also been suspended.

In April, Braun said he planned to hold off on additional steps, including changes to the IEDC board, until after the audit’s results. State Secretary of Commerce David Adams previously said the audit was expected to take six to 12 months to complete.

The concerns stemmed from a wide-ranging report by Hannah News Service that called into question the governance of the IEDC and its relationship with Elevate.