
BIO
Chad is a member of Ginovus’ site selection and economic development incentives practice. He provides location modeling, site selection, and advice on structuring economic development incentive agreements for clients throughout North America. Chad has closed transactions resulting in over $1.1 billion of capital investment and an estimated 7,700 new jobs. His depth of experience gives Chad the knowledge and expertise to understand projects resulting from complex corporate transactions to the needs of start-up companies. Chad is also a member of The Site Selectors Guild, an internationally recognized site selection organization. Members are peer-nominated, vetted, and must demonstrate significant professional location advisory experience.
Before joining Ginovus, Chad served on the senior leadership team of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the State of Indiana’s lead economic development agency, where he held the roles of EVP, CFO, and General Counsel. During that time, Chad represented Indiana in structuring and negotiating incentives for more than 700 companies (including Nestle, Honda, and Amazon). He also participated as a member of the State‘s trade delegations to Asia and Europe in an effort to secure new foreign direct investment opportunities. Prior to his work with IEDC, Chad practiced law with the Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller and as a CPA with Deloitte.
BACKGROUND
- J.D., Summa Cum Laude, Indiana University, Maurer School of Law
- B.S., Accounting, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
- Former EVP & General Counsel, Indiana Economic Development Corporation
- Advisory Member, Board of Directors, Site Selectors Guild
EVENTS
- March 2022 – Served as a panelist for the “What’s the Big Deal: The Future of Mega-Projects” session at the Site Selectors Guild Annual Conference
- October 2021 – Panelist for a MIBOR REALTOR® Association, the Real Estate Academy of Leadership (REAL) event
- June 2021 – Panelist at the Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA) Summer Conference
- June 2021 – Presented at the Site Selectors Guild’s Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida
- April 2021 – Panelist at the Site Selectors Guild’s Virtual Table Talk event
- December 2020 – Panelist at the Site Selectors Guild’s Virtual Table Talk event
- October 2020 – Panelist at the Site Selectors Guild’s Virtual Table Talk event
- May 2020 – Presented on the “Current State of Site Selection” in a webinar to the DSM Regional ED Practitioners Group, Des Moines, Iowa.
- March 2020 – Participated as a panelist for the “Rural EDOs” and ” Building Winning Relationships with Consultants” breakout sessions at the Site Selectors Guild Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA.
- August 2019 – Presented “The Role of Local Economic Development Organizations in Creating and Retaining Jobs” at the Board of Directors meeting of the Grant County Economic Growth Council
- March 2019 – Participated at the Indiana Power Partnership Site Consultant event, Indianapolis, IN.
- March 2019 – Participated as a panelist for the “Transformation of Tax & Incentive Policies” breakout session at the Site Selectors Guild Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, UT.
- March 2019 – Interviewed by Brookings Institute regarding talent and incentive policies.
- May 2019 – Presented “2019 Economic Development Trends” to One Southern Indiana, the chamber of commerce and economic development organization which serves Clark and Floyd counties, Sellersburg, IN.
- May 2019 – Presented “Municipal Finance and Economic Development” as part of a Fundamentals of Indiana Municipal Finance seminar offered by the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF), Indianapolis, IN.
- December 2018 – Presented on “The Site Selection Process” at the Leadership Johnson County Development Day, Franklin, IN.
- November 2018 – Featured on an Inside Indiana Business segment. Watch “Amazon HQ2 Update” online here.
- November 2018 – Participated in the 2018 Greater Louisville Fam Tour and panel discussion, Louisville, KY.
- November 2018 – Presented “Ginovus Capabilities” at the Taft Law Partners Meeting, Indianapolis, IN.
- September 2018 – Presented “Competing for Data Centers” to Hoosier Energy at its annual meeting, Indianapolis, IN.
- September 2018 – Presented “Ginovus Capabilities” to The Bridge Group, Chicago, IL.
- July 2018 – Presented on Urban Site Selection Trends at the Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC) headquarters, Indianapolis, IN.
- May 2018 – Presented “Economic Development Trends and Site Certification”, along with Courtney Zaugg (Veridus Group) and Rich Christensen (Acuity Environmental Solutions) at the Indiana Commercial Real Estate Conference, Indianapolis, IN.
- March 2018 – Presented “Trends in Economic Development” to the Indiana Association for Corporate Renewal during its quarterly meeting, Indianapolis, IN.
- December 2017 – Presented on the Site Selection Process to Leadership Johnson County, Franklin, IN
- October 2017 – Presented on “Marketing Your Region” for the IEDA Conference, Bloomington, IN.
- August 2017 – Presented at the Wabash Valley Power Association Conference, Indianapolis, IN.
- August 2017 – Served on a panel for the Hoosier Energy Board Forum discussing the importance of renewable energy sources in site selection, French Lick, IN.
- June 2017 – Moderated a panel of statewide economic development leaders for the Indiana Construction Roundtable, Indianapolis, IN.
- April 2017 – Presented “Quality of Place vs. Tax Incentives” at the Mayor’s Institute, Indianapolis, IN.
- March 2017 – Presented at Radius Indiana’s Economic Development for Community Leadership program, French Lick, IN.
- December 2016 – Presented topics on economic development to the Johnson County Leadership Conference, Franklin, IN.
- September 2016 – Participated in the Denver Site Selectors Conference, Denver, CO.
- September 2016 – Participated in the West Michigan Site Selection Conference, Grand Rapids, MI.
- August 2016 – Presented to the Fishers Government Academy, Fishers, IN.
- June 2016 – Represented Ginovus at the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) local event, Indianapolis, IN.
- April 2016 – Attended the South Carolina Site Selectors Forum, hosted by South Carolina Ports, Charleston, S.C
- April 2016 – Served on an expert panel, “Trends in Economic Development” at the Johnson County Development Corporation, Franklin, IN,
PUBLICATIONS
- December 2020 – Featured in “Healthcare Concerns Consider U.S. Return“, Expansion Solutions Magazine
- February 2020 – The Site Selectors Guild (SSG) announced that Chad Sweeney is one of three current Site Selectors Guild associate members being advanced to full member status. Read the official news release here.
- January 2019 – Site Selectors Guild (SSG) announced on the 29th that Chad Sweeney was chosen as one of five new associate members. The SSG prides itself in being only association of the world’s foremost professional site selection consultants and membership is recognized as the highest standard in the site selection industry. Members are peer-nominated, vetted, and must demonstrate significant professional location advisory experience. Read the official press release here.
- December 2018 – “Incentive Considerations in M&A Transactions”, AreaDevelopment.com
- September 2018 – “Getting in the Game with Site Certification”, Inside Indiana Business
- October 2017 – Mentioned in “FedEx Ground Plans $259 Million Development”, Memphis Business Journal
- August 2017 – “Tax Increment Financing: A Critically Important Tool in Economic Development“
- May 2017 – “Structuring Incentives to Maximize Value and Minimize Risk“
- December 2016 – Quoted in “After Carrier deal, will more manufacturers threaten to leave?”, Indianapolis Business Journal
INTERESTS
- American Cancer Society, Ambassador for 2019 Discovery Ball
- Zionsville Lions Club
- Enjoys playing golf
- Spends free time watching his kids play soccer