On October 28th, 2024, Chris Salatas officially took the reigns as President & CEO of the Lake County IN Economic Alliance (LCEA). The LCEA board of directors selected Salatas, who has been affiliated with the organization for almost a decade, after a lengthy search process.
Salatas is optimistic about taking on this new role and is excited to see what the future holds.
“I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity,” Salatas said. “I am proud to follow in the footsteps of Karen Lauerman, this organization’s founding leader. My hope is that I will leave LCEA better than I found it, as she did. I have seen LCEA’s value as a connecting hub for municipalities and economic development professionals firsthand. I look forward to helping Lake County be the best it can be and continuing to assist in the improvement of its residents’ quality of life.”
Salatas was first introduced to LCEA in 2015, early after the organization’s founding. He had just been elected President of his hometown Lowell’s Town Council when he met Lauerman, who was the President & CEO of LCEA at the time. Lauerman was enlisting Lake County’s towns and cities as members of LCEA, seeking to establish a supportive network for the county’s economic development projects.
After joining the organization, Lowell received its first LCEA-managed project in 2016. This economic development opportunity stands out to Salatas as an instance in which LCEA’s effectiveness was put on full display.
“A company based in Lowell had recently vacated their facility and moved to Mexico,” Salatas said. “At that time, Aunt Millie’s was expanding and looking for a location for their new production hub, so LCEA worked with Aunt Millie’s to establish their new bakery in the empty Lowell location. It was a $24 million project and LCEA was able to complete it by early 2017, less than a year after the facility was vacated. It turned out to be an all-around positive for everyone involved and brought many well-paid jobs to Lake County. LCEA has had some great projects, like this one behind us, and I believe that we’ve got great ones ahead of us as well.”
Salatas briefly worked for Lake County’s Second District County Commissioner, Jerry Tippy, in 2017 before going on to work for Indiana Senator Todd Young for four years. Salatas then spent a total of three years working as Town Manager for St. John and later for Cedar Lake. He also serves as a member of the Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s (NIPSCO) community advisory board. Salatas’ experience in these fields have left him more than prepared to lead LCEA as its President & CEO.
Salatas believes LCEA has played an instrumental role in helping Lake County and the Region continue to develop into a world-class center of development and industry.
“LCEA is involved with some exceedingly large ongoing projects,” Salatas said. “One is the construction of the $120 million dollar United States Cold Storage Building in Lowell. Another big project is the construction of Crow Industrial Holdings’ Silos at Sanders’ Farm Business Park in Merrillville. These establishments will have massive, net positive, economic ramifications because they will create job opportunities for all of the Region’s residents. These bigger projects also showcase Lake County to the rest of the world by demonstrating that multinational corporations want to build right here in our backyard. Projects like these continue to highlight the good work that LCEA is doing in Lake County.”
Salatas reaffirms LCEA’s commitment to supporting economic development in Lake County for the good of its citizens.
“My hope is that the residents of Lake County understand that LCEA is here to support Lake County, the county’s municipalities, and help improve its residents’ quality of life,” Salatas said. “By making connections with businesses that are looking to move into Lake County and tasking our expert staff and investor membership to assist in the county’s economic development, we seek to help Lake County, and Northwest Indiana as a whole, continue to grow. A lot of exciting things are taking place here in Lake County and the future looks to be very bright.”
For more information on LCEA and its upcoming projects, please visit lcea.us.
