Businesses and organizations share news about new hires and locations, promotions, accolades
Banking
Joe DiNicolantonio was promoted to senior partner at Merrillville-based Centier Bank.
Jim Whelan was promoted to vice president and chief financial officer at Purdue Federal Credit Union. Brian Musser, senior vice president and chief financial officer, plans to retire. Andrea Rider was promoted to assistant vice president of credit administration after nine years. Emma Zhang was promoted to assistant vice president of accounting and finance after a year with the credit union.
Craig Dwight, chairman of board, will retire from the Horizon Bancorp’s board of directors at the end of his term, May 1. Eric Blackhurst was elected to serve as an independent chairperson, effective upon Dwight’s retirement. Blackhurst recently retired from a 35-year career at the Dow Chemical Co. Larry Magnesen, who retired from Fifth Third Bank in 2022, joined the Horizon Bank board Feb. 25.
Notre Dame Federal Credit Union promoted Jill Baker-Begeman to director of consumer loan underwriting; Lesley Woodruff to director of electronic services; Daniel Rodriguez to regional director, Midwest Diocesan development; Tonya Brown to president of mortgage services; and Nate Shaw to regional director, Northwest Indiana business development.
Goshen-based Interra Credit Union promoted Brian Rook to vice president and senior manager talent, performance and development; Shawna Koontz to assistant vice president and human resources operations and benefits manager; Heidi Hoffer to associate, business development officer; and Seth Thompson to vice president, agribusiness lender.
First Financial Bank President and CEO Archie Brown was reappointed to the board of the Cincinnati branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
Nicole Smith is Merrillville-based U.S. Federal Credit Union’s new president and CEO. She succeeds Michelle Wilson, who retired in January and was the credit union’s leader for 36 years.
Communications
The Institute for Crisis Management, based in South Bend, hired three senior crisis management executives: Jenny Barker, a public relations counselor, based in Nashville, Tennessee; Dianne Lynn Chase, expert in strategic communication services, based in Charlotte, North Carolina; and Byron Johnson, a strategic communications professional, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Austin Cook was appointed Mishawaka-based Schurz Communications’ new chief financial officer. He has been interim CFO since 2024. Cook previously served as the CFO of Schurz’s cloud business OTAVA.
Construction
The Indiana Ready Mixed Concrete Association awarded Ozinga Ready Mix the 2024 Outstanding Concrete Project of the Year. The Midwest-based concrete producer won the award for its Lineage Logistics project in Hobart.
Melissa Neuberg joined La Porte-based Larson-Danielson Construction as an accounting associate. She most recently was the facilities director for a retirement community. Jordan Andras joined as an assistant project manager. Most recently, he was a project manager at ARC American in Wakarusa, overseeing NIPSCO electrical projects.
Economic development
Kay Nelson, Northwest Indiana Forum’s environmental affairs director, received the Sagamore of the Wabash award from former Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Kristy Hahn was the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassador of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2024. Hahn is the community outreach and volunteer services coordinator with Family Advocates in La Porte.
Education
Purdue University Northwest associate professor Julia Rogers received the American Association of Nurse Practitioners’ 2025 Award for Outstanding Contributions for Indiana. The fourth annual PNW Alumni Hall of Fame class includes Nicole Kupchik, CEO of Nicole Kupchik Consulting, and Mason Macenski, vice president of clinical and regulatory affairs at Miromatrix Medical Inc. The first recipient of the Pride of PNW Alumni Award is Rick Calinski, director of public affairs and economic development for the Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
Arrick Jackson was named chancellor of the Indiana University Northwest campus, effective July 1. Jackson currently serves as provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs for Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he has worked in academic affairs since 2019. IU Northwest admissions added members to its student affairs and enrollment management team: Elyse Holguin as the director of student support services and Aliyah Maple as a career consultant.
Bethany Burgun joined Indiana University South Bend as director of development. Burgun most recently was director of mission advancement at Saint Joseph High School in South Bend.
Indiana University appointed Patrick Hopkins dean of the Kelley School of Business. Hopkins has been a member of the Kelley faculty since 1995 and most recently was the vice dean on IU’s Bloomington campus.
Aidan Ross, Valparaiso University senior, achieved a perfect score on his Microsoft Office 365 Excel certification exam and was the fastest in Indiana to complete the exam. President José Padilla will retire when his contract expires Dec. 31. Board Chair Robert Hansen Jr. will retire after 18 years, including five years as board chair, in December. The university board of directors elected Jon Steinbrecher to serve as chair elect. Steinbrecher will begin his term as board chair in January 2026.
The University of Notre Dame appointed Dan Cook, a 1996 alumnus, as its new university architect and vice president for facilities design and operations. Cook succeeds Doug Marsh, the first to hold the position. Physicist Laura Fields received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her research studying neutrinos. Faculty Ernest Morrell, Mark Berends and Jeffrey Denning were named to the 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. Ahsan Kareem, the Robert M. Moran professor of engineering in the department of civil and environmental engineering and earth sciences, was elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He will join the academy’s division of technical and environmental sciences.
Alvin Richards is Gary Community School Corp.’s new chief technology officer.
Brian Pillar, the chair of the business department at Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, received a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award signed by former U.S. President Joseph Biden.
Brother Shaun Gray joined the Brothers of Holy Cross community at the Holy Cross College campus, in South Bend. He will serve as rector at St. Joseph Chapel and will coordinate events and help with Masses. He left the St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church/School and Marquette Catholic High School communities after 20 years.
The National Catholic Education Association named Diane Gasaway, a teacher at Queen of All Saints Catholic School in Michigan City, a recipient of their 2025 “Lead. Learn. Proclaim” award.
Finance
Brandon Sinclair was named the marketing and public relations associate at Michigan-based Calder Capital.
Edward Jones Financial Adviser Brock Lloyd qualified for the Edward Jones recognition conference, Momentum, which celebrates the contributions and achievements of 459 financial advisers of the more than 20,000 employed by the financial services firm. The event will be April 21 through 24 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Daniel McKenna joined Munster-based Harvest Wealth Partners as a partner at the firm.
Food
Thomas Costello is the new national sales manager for Elkhart-based Amish Pretzel Co., sister brand to Ben’s Soft Pretzels.
Government
Jennifer-Ruth Green of Crown Point took office in January as Indiana’s secretary of public safety, appointed by Gov. Mike Braun.
Lawrence Jones, of “FOX & Friends,” has become Merrillville’s first auxiliary officer.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton joined the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative’s Mayors Commission on Economic Transformation.
Dilylah Johnson, Gabriella Holt and Logan Haskins of Lowell High School are the winners of the Congressional App Challenge in Indiana’s First Congressional District.
The Hammond Fire Department promoted 32-year veteran Chris Trtan to assistant chief; Ryan Anguiano, a 20-year member of the department, from battalion chief to assistant chief of the fire training division; and Senior Capt. Bryan Robson, a 27-year member of the department, to battalion chief.
Elkhart native Megan Erwin will succeed longtime Chief of Staff Bradley Tracy, who is retiring. Tracy joined the city’s staff in 2019. He will continue handling special projects for Mayor Rod Roberson’s administration. Erwin spent the last seven years working for the city of Norfolk, Virgina, as a senior budget analyst, HUD grants manager and assistant director of housing and community development.
Health care
Franciscan Physician Network welcomed new staff, including family medicine physician Ted George Ody Achufusi in Michigan City; gastroenterologist Muhammad Kudaimi in Crown Point; gastroenterologist Eric Steinberg in Crown Point; pulmonologist and critical care physician Joy Williams in Michigan City.
Mark Casanova was named chief executive officer at Northwest Health – La Porte in La Porte and Northwest Health – Starke in Knox. Casanova most recently was CEO of Terre Haute Regional Hospital in Terre Haute. Jonathan Grossman, a physician specializing in neurology, joined Northwest Medical Group – Neurology in Valparaiso. David Kwak was named director of surgical services for both Northwest Health – La Porte and Northwest Health – Starke hospitals.
Hospitality
Journeyman Distillery hired Tim Turbett as director of marketing and Michael Wozniak as chief operating officer, a new role for the craft distillery based in Three Oaks, Michigan, and Valparaiso.
Conner White is the vice chair and chief investment officer, a new position at Merrillville-based White Lodging. White is the eldest son of White Lodging Chair Beth White and the late founder Bruce White.
Interior design
Rita Bacevich was named director of strategic development Northwest Indiana for HDW, an Office Interiors Company. Granger-based Office Interiors acquired HDW Commercial Interiors, a Merrillville-based commercial design and furniture company, earlier this year.
Law
Porter Superior Court 4 Judge Christopher Buckley is the 2025 National Alliance on Mental Illness Indiana Advocates for Mental Health Justice Award.
Paralegals Melanie Foster and Veronica Ramirez joined Tolbert & Tolbert in Gary.
Jessica Chalmers joined South Bend firm THK Law as an associate attorney, estate planning and elder law.
Rebecca Buitendorp was appointed to the Porter County Circuit Court. She was a deputy prosecuting attorney with the Porter County prosecutor’s office before becoming a judge. She fills Judge Mary DeBoer’s vacancy, who was appointed to the Court of Appeals in September 2024.
Logistics
Ports of Indiana hired maritime logistics executive David Parrott to serve as the statewide port authority’s chief operating officer. Parrott is a former CEO of Liberty Terminals, vice president of operations for Metro Ports, and international logistics manager for Schneider Logistics and Wallenius Wilhelmsen.
Anacostia Rail Holdings, which owns the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad, appointed Michael Naatz as its chief operating officer. Naatz is a National Private Truck Council Certified Transportation Professional, Certified National Association of Corporate Directors Governance Fellow, and member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.
Milton Reed, the city of East Chicago’s appointment to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority board of directors, was elected vice chairman for 2025. Don Fesko will continue to serve as chairman and Christopher Campbell as treasurer. Reed replaces Randy Palmateer.
The St. Joseph County Airport Authority named Alan Tio vice president of business development for South Bend International Airport. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer for Kosciusko Economic Development Corp.
Manufacturing
Kellen Zollinger was appointed CFO of South Bend-based General Stamping & Metalworks. He succeeds John Ryal who retired in February.
Hideki Fujimoto was appointed president and CEO of Michigan City-based Hitachi Global Air Power. Fujimoto succeeds John Randall who was promoted to president and CEO of Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co. Fujimoto most recently was the deputy group executive of the Global Air Power division at HIES.
Marketing
Hammond-based C WHITT PR was certified by the state of Indiana as a Women/Minority-owned business. Chelsea Whittington is the owner and CEO.
Tristen Kerwin rejoined the Generate Sales & Marketing team as a creative sales strategist. She also worked for the St. John-based company from 2014 to 2018. She most recently was the CEO of Bauer Family Resources based in Lafayette.
Media
Kathy Chaney, former National Association of Black Journalists vice president of print, was named executive editor of The Times of Northwest Indiana. Previously, she was the executive editor for YR Media. She also was deputy managing editor for breaking news and staff development at the Chicago Sun-Times, managing editor for EBONY magazine, and managing editor at the Chicago Defender.
Kerry Sapet was named news editor at Northwest Indiana Business Magazine. She manages the content on NWIndianaBusiness.com and MichianaBusinessNews.com. Christina Wagner, Peoples Bank’s marketing coordinator, joined the editorial advisory board.
Nonprofit
Stacia Conrad joined the Community Foundation of Pulaski County Inc. as a coalition coordinator, and Heidi Wright as director of programs. The foundation added two board members: Shane Pilarski, president and CEO of Alliance Bank in Francesville, on the development committee; and Christi Beavers, marketing strategist for GE Healthcare, on the governance committee.
Kristy Hahn, Shannon Walker and Erica Boyd are new members of Michigan City-based Nest Community Shelter’s board of directors.
Katie Eaton, public affairs and economic development manager at NIPSCO., and Sandra Wood, superintendent of the La Porte Community School Corp., are new members of the Unity Foundation of La Porte County’s board of directors. Marisa Rempala joined the nonprofit as the marketing and program manager.
The Duneland Exchange Club recognized Chesterton High School senior Kolvin Dade as Youth of the Month in February. Dade plans to study sports medicine and business after graduation.
Technology
Indianapolis-based TechPoint announced its 2025 Mira Awards Winners, including IronWorkz in Gary: Community Impact Award; and rScan in South Bend: Startup of the Year.
Nathan Uldricks, the general manager of Fabius Labs, was chosen for the emerging leaders program at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He lives in Beverly Shores and is chair of the Pine Township board. •
Email notices about new hires and promotions to news@nwindianabusiness.com for consideration in the next Around the Region.
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