LANSING – After three and a half years of steering Michigan’s economic development efforts, James Epolito is returning to the insurance arena, this time as president of Delta Dental of Michigan.
At Delta, Epolito will also have executive positions as executive vice president of enterprise sales in the larger company, which has affiliates in Ohio and Indiana.
Epolito said it was a hard decision to leave the job and had received several job offers in other states, but is thrilled to have landed at a “great company” in Delta Dental, which is also just three miles from his home.
He said he is pleased with the economic development team in place at the MEDC and the tools the state, with legislative support, has put in place. “We really do think it’s the most comprehensive, most researched plan in the nation,” Epolito said.
Key aspects are the focus on alternative energy, such solar panel manufacturing, advanced battery technology and biofuel development, and the six centers of energy excellence.
The energy centers, he added, are “right in President-elect Obama’s wheelhouse and we know we’re better prepared than most states to attract those dollars into the state.”
Befitting his optimistic image, Epolito said the state is nearing the “tipping point” of transitioning to a new economy with investments in alternative energy, advanced technologies, and growing partnerships between the state, universities and businesses as centers of economic development. “It’s still automotive but it’s so much more than that,” he said.
Other highlights include new advertising campaigns for the state, settlement of casino lawsuits and attracting a younger workforce to the MEDC. “It’s a cool place to work. We’ve stabilized it,” he said.
Epolito said he “never had a better boss” than Governor Jennifer Granholm, who he added always “had my back.”
Granholm, who has lauded Epolito’s work to produce record-breaking investment announcements in several recent months, said his new assignment is a once in a career opportunity.
Despite the continuing challenges of the Michigan economy, with the nation’s worst unemployment rate, Granholm said she does not anticipate the state will have a difficult time finding a new leader of economic development efforts. The search will quickly get underway, but Granholm also said there are good people within the MEDC.
She said the administration was looking for someone who would be there for two years and work very hard. The post could be “very rewarding” and presented a “huge opportunity in these challenging times.”
Sen. Alan Sanborn (R-Richmond), chair of the Senate Economic Development and Regulatory Reform Committee, said the change means a “huge loss” for the MEDC. He said Epolito’s bipartisan work ethic and integrity made him a valuable leader of the agency.
“I started out fighting with him only to become good friends,” he said. “I grew to admire and respect him. He meets challenges head on, which are no doubt characteristics he learned while playing football at MSU.”
He said his committee will hold a confirmation hearing on whoever the successor will be, but withheld comment on what kind of person the administration should pursue.
MEDC Executive Committee Chair Matt Cullen praised Mr. Epolito for helping to diversify the state’s economy and scoring some significant investments even during a festering recession, and implementing new programs and tax breaks that recently were put into effect such as the 21st Century Jobs Fund and Centers for Economic Excellence.
“He has played a key role in advancing Governor Granholm’s economic diversification strategy – the most aggressive plan of any state in the country to grow high-tech industries and jobs. Under his direction, the MEDC scored significant successes, including the attraction of Google, GM’s commitment to build the Chevrolet Volt in Michigan and Hemlock Semiconductor’s multi-billion-dollar expansions among numerous developments in high-tech sectors,” Cullen said.
Amid the publicized successes, Epolito acknowledged some mistakes, and said the toughest thing about the job has been “the dour attitude of people within the state. “Getting people off their heels and on their toes and saying we’re going to fight through this, and changing that attitude has been the hardest part of my job,” he said. “But the people of Michigan are resilient and they’re tough. We will be back.”
The biggest thing for state leaders to take on now, Epolito said, is to change the way foreign investment and immigrants are viewed. “We have to be welcoming to these companies that come from all over the world. We have to change our attitude a bit,” he said.
Delta CEO Thomas Fleszar, who held the position Epolito is going to fill, said his “extensive background in health care, insurance and government make him an ideal choice for this important leadership position.”
Epolito had been president of the Accident Fund of Michigan and senior vice president of subsidiary operations of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan prior to accepting the job as head of the MEDC in September 2005.
Shortly after he took over at MEDC for Don Jakeway, Granholm made him the only non-department head to be a member of her cabinet.
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