MEDCO president Nick Glew set to resign

Nick Glew, president of the Marion Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) since 2014, has announced plans to resign from his role to pursue a new opportunity in the region. Mr. Glew will continue to lead MEDCO through June 30. The MEDCO Executive Committee has started a search for his replacement. In an interview with the Corridor Business Journal, Mr. Glew declined to specify his new role, but indicated that it would be in the private sector and would begin in mid-August. “It’s a role that I hope to remain connected and aligned in continuing to support economic developers and their work every day,” he said. MEDCO officials said Mr. Glew has been an influential and visible leader in the Marion community for the past 15 years, having served on the Marion City Council from 2008-2011 before being hired as the founding director of Uptown Marion in 2013, then being named MEDCO’s president in 2014. During his time as MEDCO president, Mr. Glew has represented the Marion community on several state boards, including the Iowa Great Places Citizens Advisory Board, Professional Developers of Iowa, Iowa Workforce Development, Main Street Iowa Advisory Council, and the Iowa Association of Business & Industry. He has twice been recognized as one of the Corridor Business Journal’s 250 Most Influential Leaders and is a past CBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. “Mr. Glew is one of the most gifted leaders that I know,” MEDCO board chair Steve Neighbor said in the release. “Marion is stronger today because of the work supported by Nick and his team. He will be greatly missed by all those who got the chance to work with him at MEDCO.” Mr. Glew told the CBJ he was honored to have played a role in Marion’s explosive growth during his time with MEDCO and the city, including significant commercial growth on the city’s east side and the Uptown core. “When you're deep in the daily work, sometimes you have to intentionally step back and see all of the investments and all of the work that has happened, not just by one team or one individual, but by a collective of businesses and developers and bankers and planners and city council members,” he said. “Sometimes we get to represent collective wins that are really the result of work that lots of individuals have put in over many, many years. As I look back at the success that we've had as a community, it’s humbling to know that I was able to have a tiny amount of influence on that.” Under Mr. Glew’s leadership, MEDCO significantly elevated its influence and image within the region. Accomplishments include:

• Directly supporting more than $375 million of new investment in the Marion community.
• Supporting projects that created and retained more than 2,500 jobs.
• Completing land sales in the Marion Enterprise Center that propelled $55 million of industrial expansion.
• Increasing supporting business partnerships by 55%.
• Developing an expedited process for businesses to apply for financial incentives in partnership with the city of Marion.
• Launching Marion Community Promise and Marion Community Build, initiatives supporting the next generation of workforce and revitalizing core neighborhoods.
• Opening Cowork 1107, Marion’s first and only coworking business, in the Broad and Main development in Uptown Marion.
• Leading numerous state advocacy trips and meetings in partnership with the Marion Chamber, city of Marion, and Professional Developers of Iowa.
• Advocating for the responsible use of Tax Increment Financing and becoming a respected statewide leader in educating elected officials and policy makers on the mechanics of TIF.

Specifically, Mr. Glew noted that he and Marion Chamber president Jill Ackerman “cut our teeth together” on economic development efforts for the city of Marion, and that the city has benefitted from cooperative efforts between MEDCO, the Chamber, Uptown Marion Main Street and the city’s elected officials. “I truly believe that our competitive advantage as a community has been a result of our collaborative approach,” he said. “We've always worked together to understand our unique role in driving economic development, while also understanding that we have to collaborate to continue to drive success. That has always been our competitive advantage, and it will remain imperative for the next 10 to 20 years to come.” Mr. Glew said he and his family plan to stay in the Marion community. “Leading Marion Economic Development has been my most rewarding and humbling professional experience,” Mr. Glew said. “Economic development isn’t about what we’ll do this year or next, it’s about staying committed to a long-term vision. I have no doubt Marion’s momentum will continue and community leaders will stay focused not on today, but on the next ten years. I look forward to supporting our growth from a different seat on the bus.”