Michael A. Finney

Michael A. Finney is president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), a public-private partnership serving as the state’s lead agency for business and job growth, talent enhancement, tourism marketing, arts and cultural grants, and overall economic growth. His responsibilities at MEDC also include serving as executive of Governor Rick Snyder’s Economic Growth Group and as president and chairman of the Michigan Strategic Fund. Under Mike’s leadership, the MEDC developed Pure Michigan Business Connect (PMBC), one of the most innovative economic development programs in the country. PMBC provides comprehensive business development, capital access, talent enhancement, and marketing assistance to Michigan-based companies. Prior to taking the helm at MEDC, Mike served as president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, a public-private partnership whose mission is to advance innovation-based economic development in the greater Ann Arbor, Michigan region. He has also served as president and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise, vice president of MEDC’s emerging business sectors, senior vice president and general manager of Thomson Saginaw, and assistant city manager of Saginaw, Michigan. Mike currently serves on the boards of directors for the State Science and Technology Institute, the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, Governor Snyder’s Talent Investment Board, and the Washtenaw Community College Foundation. He also serves on the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute, Office of Technology Transfer, and Center for Entrepreneurship advisory councils. In 2008, Mike was recognized as an outstanding alumnus of Saginaw Valley State University’s College of Business and Management. In 2007, he was named a “Newsmaker of the Year” by Crain’s Detroit Business, and in 2005, he was a Minett Distinguished Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology.