(EMAILWIRE.COM, February 21, 2002 ) The Cleveland Foundation has appointed Bradley W. Whitehead to a two-year term as a senior fellow for Economic Development. In this newly created role, Whitehead will work with business, political and academic leaders to design and implement a program to address the economic growth and business formation issues affecting Northeast Ohio. Central to this will be the successful launch of industry clusters and the supporting enablers for commercializing technologies and encouraging new business growth.

Whitehead, 41, is a senior partner with the Cleveland Office of McKinsey & Company, an international management consulting firm, where he has worked for the past 20 years. He has extensive experience in the growth and business building and economic development arenas. He was a leader of McKinsey's Global Business Building Practice and the founder of the New Economy Center, a unit dedicated to new business creation. His client work spanned industrial, consumer, service, and high technology companies. Whitehead is a co-founder of CoreResources, an entrepreneurial support organization to early-stage companies with environmentally sustainable technologies. Whitehead has led economic development efforts for local, national and international organizations, including the The World Resources Institute, the President's Council on Sustainable Development, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Gordon Moore Foundation, and the Cleveland Foodbank.

Whitehead has been extensively involved in economic development issues in Cleveland over the last year. He was involved in the development of the business plan for BioEnterprise, as well as strategies for Nortech and the Ohio Polymer Strategy Council. Whitehead recently returned from a Northeast Ohio life sciences trade mission to Israel and has been working with the Growth Association, the Ohio Israeli Chamber of Commerce, and BioEnterprise on the follow up.

Whitehead notes "most of the strategy work has been completed around economic development. We generally know where we need to go as a community - now is the time for action. My role as a senior fellow at The Cleveland Foundation will be to assist our local institutions and community leaders in trying new models for growth, marshalling the resources to 'go big', and increasing the pace of business development activity. There is real readiness across the community to make things happen. New faces and new ideas can be found all over town, from City Hall to our universities, and we have a seasoned group of business and civic leaders who are ready to re-enlist. We have tremendous latent potential in the community - it is time to harness it."

"Brad's extensive experience in the economic development arena and his enthusiam for helping this community will allow him to make great strides in the economic development arena," said Steven A. Minter, president of The Cleveland Foundation. "The Foundation has long been a supporter of economic development activities in Cleveland and are very excited that Brad is taking a leadership role in what is a crucial area for the region's development."

This is only the second time in the Foundation's history that a senior fellow has been appointed. In the mid-1990s Dr. Arthur J. Naparstek, Grace Longwell Coyle Professor of Social Work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, was named a Foundation senior fellow. A national expert on urban poverty and a proponent of community building, Naparstek provided leadership for the implementation of the Foundation's Poverty Commission recommendations. His work was also instrumental in Cleveland being named one of the initial Federal Empowerment Zone cities.

Whitehead graduated with honors in economics from Harvard College, where he was a Harvard Scholar, a Hearst Foundation Scholar and a National Commended Scholar. He also holds a Masters of Public Administration from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. He presently resides in Shaker Heights with his wife, Amy, and four children.

The Cleveland Foundation, a public charity dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Greater Cleveland, is the oldest and second-largest community foundation in the nation. Its establishment in 1914 is cited as one of 10 events that most heavily influenced the development of the nonprofit sector in the 20th Century and it continues to be a leader in its field. The Foundation has assets of approximately $1.6 billion and last year awarded more than $72 million in grants and low-cost loans to Cleveland area nonprofit organizations.

The Cleveland Foundation is made up of more than 800 funds created by individuals, families, organizations and corporations. It offers donors of all means the opportunity to have a lasting impact on their community while maximizing income, gift and estate tax benefits.

For more information about the organization, visit www.clevelandfoundation.org.

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Produced for The Cleveland Foundation

Contact:

Rick Batyko
216/615-7192

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The Cleveland Foundation
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