Keynote Speaker - Director Lydia Mihalik

Ohio Department of Development

Lydia Mihalik is the Director of the Ohio Department of Development (Development), a state agency committed to empowering communities to succeed by investing in the people, places, and businesses of Ohio.

Prior to her appointment by Governor Mike DeWine in 2019, Director Mihalik served as the 55th Mayor of the City of Findlay in northwest Ohio. Her vision and leadership led to the revitalization of the city’s downtown, attracting new job-creators from around the world, and Findlay being recognized as the top micropolitan in the nation by Site Selection Magazine for economic development and job creation every year since 2013.

Director Mihalik is putting that experience to work for Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted to make Ohio the best place to live, learn, work, and visit. Under her leadership, Development is bringing public- and private-sector partners together to accomplish the Administration’s priorities to build a thriving economy, invest in small businesses, prepare communities for the future, construct robust broadband infrastructure, and expand the skills of our workforce.

Under the leadership of Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted, Ohio’s economy has seen significant growth. That record of success secured the biggest economic development project in Ohio’s history with Intel selecting Ohio to build what could be the largest semiconductor facility on the planet.

Director Mihalik and her husband, Drew, live in Findlay with their three children: Joseph, Elizabeth, and Delaney.