Engage Northeast Indiana - Fort Wayne

Jim Lancaster was appointed Senior Vice President, Head of Global Product Development and Executive Director Global Headquarters in October 2024. In this role, he leads Clinical Affairs, Market Access and Platform Technologies and is responsible for driving the Company's product development strategy and initiatives, as well as fostering effective and efficient partnerships with key stakeholders in the greater Warsaw, Indiana community.

Mr. Lancaster was appointed President, Recon in 2019 and Global Headquarters Executive Director in September 2023. He was appointed to the Company’s Executive Leadership Team in November 2023.

He joined the Company (then Biomet) in 2007 as the Senior Director of Extremity and Knee in R&D.  Previously, he spent 15 years with DePuy Orthopedics in a variety of leadership positions.

Mr. Lancaster holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Valparaiso University and a Master of Science from the University of Leeds (Leeds, United Kingdom).

Dr. Michael J Mirro is a physician, clinical professor, and researcher. He earned an accelerated degree from Loyola University in Chicago and an M.D. from the Indiana University School of Medicine.He completed an internship and a residency in internal medicine, a clinical cardiology fellowship, and a cardiac electrophysiology research fellowship, all at the IUSM.He subsequently earned board certification in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, cardiac electrophysiology, and geriatrics. He is a Certified Cardiac Device Specialist (IBHRE)

He joined Parkview Health in Fort Wayne in 1981, moving there from the University of Iowa where he was an assistant professor of medicine.While at Iowa he established a cardiac electrophysiology program and was active in both basic and clinical research. Before retiring from active practice at Parkview in 2014, he was a long-time partner in the Parkview Physicians Group with a clinical focus of caring for patients with heart rhythm disorders.

He is currently a SVP: Chief Academic Research Officer at Parkview Health and the Director of the Mirro Center for Research and Innovation at Parkview where he specializes in clinical research in cardiac electrophysiology and health informatics. He is also co-director of the Midwest Alliance for Health Education where he was a founding board member.He is a Trustee of Indiana University (Term: 2014-2023/President of Board 2017-2021).

Dr. Mirro is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American Heart Association, the Heart Rhythm Society and the American College of Chest Physicians. He is also a fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) where he has been a member of the Board of Trustees and Management Board is currently a member of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry, an organization focused on institutional quality improvement. Dr Mirro continues to be actively engaged with the ACC as well as the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) on numerous work groups focused on quality improvement, physician performance and Informatics. Dr Mirro is past chair of both ACC and HRS Informatics Work Groups and recently testified before the US Senate HELP Committee (07/23/2016) on “Data Blocking” and Interoperability of Electronic Health Records representing the ACC. He is an active in the American Medical Informatics Association. He has conducted numerous clinical research studies (Principal Investigator on over 100 trials) and has served as a member of institutional review boards for several hospitals. He is a past board member of Indiana University Hospital and Parkview Health System. He remains active academically with teaching medical students as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Indiana University and has published over 50 scientific article/book chapters. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Bioinformatics.

Dr. Mirro received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Indiana University.He has been honored with the designation of Sagamore of the Wabash by the Governor of Indiana and Distinguished Hoosier by the State Legislature. He is past Chairman of the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce and the Founding Board Chair of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (Technology Incubator).He is a member of the advisory boards of the Indiana University School of Informatics and the Indiana University Presidential Economic Development Cabinet. Dr Mirro has been past president of the Fort Wayne Medical Society and in the past served as Treasurer for the Indiana State Medical Association. He has been a member of the board of advisors of Centerfield Capital Partners, a Founding Director of Tower Bank, a Founding General Partner of the Paladin Global Ventures Life Science Fund, the Ballard Emerging Life Sciences Fund and a past board member of Medical Informatics Engineering

https://www.parkview.com/mirro-center/about-mirro-center-for-research-innovation

Vanessa joined the Indiana Chamber on October 16 as president and CEO-elect; she assumes her full role on January 5, 2024, upon current leader Kevin Brinegar’s retirement.

After 20 years in Washington D.C. at the center of politics and power, Vanessa moved “home” to Indianapolis with her husband, a Clay County native, and their two sons. She founded Green Sinders Consulting, a woman-led firm offering strategic advice, project execution and crisis management, and leadership development and coaching services to clients.

Previously, Vanessa served as senior vice president for government affairs at Charter Communications/Spectrum, a Fortune 100 cable and broadband company. She was responsible for directing the company’s strategic policy and political engagement with Congress and the White House, as well as managing a seven-person internal team and 15 external consulting firms.

Vanessa came to Charter after a four-year stint as senior vice president and department head for government affairs at the American Hotel & Lodging Association. In that capacity, she oversaw the association’s advocacy work at the federal, state and local levels, and managed the 10-person government affairs team.

Vanessa’s political and policy roots run deep. For a decade, earlier in her career, she held high-profile positions on Capitol Hill, including chief of staff for then-U.S. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and policy director for former U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. Additionally, she was chief of staff for the “Campaign to Fix the Debt,” a nonpartisan issue-based coalition advocating for better national fiscal policies. There, she oversaw the implementation of the campaign’s strategy and directed the activities for its 45-person staff.

Vanessa received a bachelor’s degree in government with a minor in economics from Dartmouth College.

Chuck Surack is the Founder and Chairman of the Board for Sweetwater, the No. 1 online retailer of musical instruments and pro-audio equipment in the United States. His entrepreneurial journey began in 1979. With nothing but a deep passion for music, a VW bus, and a guiding principle to “always do the right thing,” Chuck launched Sweetwater Sound as a 4-track recording studio. Today, Sweetwater employs more than 2,800 team members and serves more than one million customers annually.

Chuck’s commitment to unmatched customer service extends beyond Sweetwater and into Surack Enterprises, a diverse collection of companies with a unified goal of strengthening and investing in communities throughout the Midwest. Among them, SweetCars, Sweet Aviation, Sweet Helicopters, Longe Optical, and The Clyde Theatre are all based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Surack Enterprises employs more than 500 people, with more being added to the team every week.

Through Sweet Real Estate, Chuck has made transformative additions to Fort Wayne’s cultural landscape. The Pearl and Pearl Street Arts Center provide space for local artists, families, and businesses to flourish, further demonstrating Chuck’s dedication to community growth and enrichment. Chuck and his wife Lisa also choose to give back through the Surack Family Foundation, a nonprofit supporting more than 600 empowering organizations across Northeast Indiana.

Outside of his busy professional life, Chuck still finds time to play the saxophone with various groups at small venues in Fort Wayne. He’s also an avid helicopter pilot. But what Chuck and Lisa value most is family time, weekly setting aside time for dinners with their two grown sons, daughter, and two granddaughters.

Ryan leads the operational oversight, strategic development, and community engagement efforts for NEI’s Regional Initiatives.

Ryan has served as a member of the team in various capacities since 2006.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and earned his juris doctor from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2010.

He currently serves on the board of directors for IndianaINTERN.net and Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne.