FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Mark Barbash
Interim President & CEO, OEDA
Director, Ohio Economic Development Institute
mbarbash@ohioeda.com
614-774-7599
OEDA Names David Zak as Next President & CEO
28-year Economic Development Veteran to Lead State Association
DUBLIN, OHIO – TUESDAY, AUGUST 13 – Today, the Ohio Economic Development Association (OEDA) announced that after a four-month national search it has chosen David Zak to serve as its second President & CEO. Zak’s first day will be September 3, 2024.
OEDA is the leading association representing economic development professionals across Ohio, with more than 600 members from the state’s economic development organizations. The nonprofit was created in 2005 as the successor to the Ohio Development Association, which was founded in 1980.
“We are pleased to have an economic development professional of David Zak’s caliber leading OEDA,” said Thomas Winston, Chair of the OEDA Board of Directors and President and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “David’s extensive experience makes him the ideal choice to guide OEDA into the future.”
Winston also highlighted the recognition Ohio’s economic development efforts have received from Site Selection Magazine, crediting local and state professionals for “marshaling the resources to help grow existing employers and attract new jobs to their communities.”
Since 2022, Zak has been the President & CEO of the Crawford Partnership in Northwest Ohio. Before that, he successfully led local economic development organizations in the Toledo, Dayton, and Columbus regions. He also has a decade of experience at the state level, directing the Business Services Division at the Ohio Department of Development, and also beginning his career covering the state for foreign direct investment and northeast and eastern Ohio for domestic projects. Over the last 28 years, Zak has been involved with projects creating 18,000 new jobs and $1.8 billion in new investment, as well as helping to obtain 12 top Site Selection rankings for his communities.
Zak was excited to take on this new role, “I am proud and passionate about this state, this profession, and the people and organizations working hard every day to grow our economy and improve its quality of life. From the rural towns to the big metros, from local and regional organizations to JobsOhio and state agencies, OEDA will aspire to serve all, represent all, and provide the best professional development opportunities and resources available anywhere. I can’t wait to get started.”
From 2016 to 2020, Zak also served on the board of OEDA as Northwest Ohio Director and Vice President of Investment. For the last six years, he has also been the lead instructor for Managing Economic Development Organizations for the Ohio Economic Development Institute. Zak is a 1994 and 1996 graduate of The Ohio State University, a 2008 graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma, and a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional. He is married and lives near Findlay, Ohio, is father to four daughters, and is an avid trail runner.
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About the Ohio Economic Development Association
Established in 2005, the Ohio Economic Development Association (OEDA) is one of the leading state economic development associations in the country, with more than 600 members from the Ohio’s local, regional, and state economic development organizations and partners. Its mission is to advance the practice of economic development to foster growth, prosperity, and opportunities for all residents of the State of Ohio. It fulfills this mission by helping to expand the knowledge, network, and influence of its members through premier programs like the Ohio Economic Development Institute and events like the OEDA Summit. Learn more at ohioeda.com.