By Gigi Wood
IOWA CITY — There will be increased regional collaboration.
When Joe Raso resigned as president of the Iowa City Area Development Group last year, there was talk of not replacing him, but instead combining the economic development organization with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. That way, there would be a single group trying to attract new businesses to the Corridor and retaining the ones already here.
“I think Mark did a terrific job in the time that I worked with him,” Mr. Raso said. “He was really the leader in terms of thinking through what we needed to do and the implementation of many of our culture, innovation and entrepreneurial programming. He really took our existing industries program to new heights, that’s recognized nationally. And he’s just a very collaborative person who really wants to partner with the private and public sector and the region.”
Scott Fisher, past chair of ICAD’s board and president of McCrossen Consulting, said that while ICAD and CRMEA were not combined into one, ICAD will work regionally with its economic development partners.
“ICAD’s common purpose document really focuses on economic development in the Creative Corridor and is heavily focused on collaboration with the other economic development organizations in the seven-county (Kirkwood Community College) area and other organizations, like the Iowa City (Area) Chamber (of Commerce), working together to achieve goals in that area,” he said. “I would say that the board believes that collaboration is going to be necessary to be successful. It isn’t an insular process that ICAD is engaged in. It’s going to be in cooperation and in tandem with other organizations in the Corridor.
As the economy, industries and the nature of economic development change and evolve, so will the leadership position at ICAD, Mr. Fisher said.
“It’s twofold there. One is, I think we recognize there are changes in the realities that we’re facing; things like a more mobile workforce, things like cultivating entrepreneurship,” he said. “And the way I think we’re going to try to address that is on a collaborative basis. Mark, as the leader of ICAD, is going to be tasked with responding to the realities that are in front of us.”
A national search was conducted to find Mr. Raso’s replacement.
“We had a very thorough process and really got a lot of qualified candidates,” Mr. Fisher said. “We were looking for someone who could really focus on strategic objectives, was very adaptable, could collaborate well with other organizations and really had an inner drive to achieve business results. Mark proved to be very strategic and collaborative. I think he’s very driven toward achieving the results. And that was very important to us because we’re just starting this Vision 2030 campaign and there are some pretty aggressive goals we want to meet for the Creative Corridor area.”
Those goals include attracting 15 targeted interstate companies creating 860 high-quality jobs, creating 16 new interstate commerce companies adding 170 high-quality jobs and increasing total interstate commerce capital investment from $275 million during the past five years to $400 million within a five-year period.
“Much of the framework for moving forward is focused on working to strengthen Corridor companies,” Mr. Fisher said. “Mark’s knowledge and working with them both as the business development director of ICAD and his work with the other economic development organizations in the Creative Corridor is going to be very helpful for us. In addition, entrepreneurship is going to be very important in the future. Mark was really the person behind the CoLab (business incubator/coworking space) venture. His ability to work with the existing companies and his ability to develop that entrepreneurial or culture of innovation were two keys to his leadership.”
Dee Baird, president and CEO of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, said Mr. Nolte bring an understanding of the region to the position.
“We’ve worked with Mark for many years. He is experienced in economic development in the Creative Corridor and understands the region,” Ms. Baird stated in an email. “We look forward to working with him in the future.”
David Hensley, executive director of the University of Iowa’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and interim associate vice president for economic development, said the UI has an important relationship with ICAD.
“I am thrilled that Mark has been named the president of ICAD,” said Mr. Hensley, who is also a member of ICAD’s board of directors. “Mark has a very unique knowledge of the community. He is committed to our region and he has a very diverse skill set in that he both has a traditional economic development background, as well as he is a very innovative, creative person who is a very strong supporter of entrepreneurship. He really has that broad perspective and background that makes him the perfect person for that position.”
Mr. Hensley said the UI supports the CoLab, which many UI graduates use after leaving the university.
“I think things are going to improve greatly because of Mark’s interest in entrepreneurship and he’s a very good collaborator,” Mr. Hensley said. “I see only positive things to come of this and I expect us to work closely together, not just on the CoLab, but in other economic development and entrepreneurial activities.”
David Bywater, president of Tru Art Color Graphics in Iowa City and former ICAD board member, said naming Mr. Nolte is an asset to the organization and was the correct choice for president.
Before joining ICAD, Mr. Nolte served as a senior manager and training consultant for The Abilities Fund and was assistant director for the Institute for Social and Economic Development where he managed city, state and federal programs. He co-owns Nolte Academy of Dance in Coralville with his wife, Leslie.
