Innovate Northwest Indiana - Valparaiso

Tess Albanese is Co-President of Albanese Confectionery Group, where she and her sisters are building something seriously sweet—literally and culturally. Since stepping into leadership in 2018, they’ve more than doubled the company’s revenue and expanded operations to over 1 million square feet, all while staying true to the business’s unapologetically bold core values: Own It, Love People, Act for the Greater Good, Find a Way, and Hustle and Refuse to Settle.

Tess didn’t take the traditional business route, she started her career as a trauma nurse, which gave her the ability to stay calm under pressure, make fast, high-stakes decisions, and lead with purpose when it matters most. She’s held nearly every role at Albanese, from picking orders to Executive Leadership, and somewhere along the way became the unofficial first responder.

Tess lives in “the region” with her husband Joshua and children Leo, Kate, Aria, and Vivienne.  

Heather Ennis is President and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum, a privately held nonprofit organization focused on creating economic development opportunities for the seven-county region. With more than 130 members, the Forum works to create a positive business climate promoting investment, quality job creation and retention in harmony with the environment and critical components of a sustainable regional economy. Funded by membership contributions and grants, Forum membership translates into a direct investment in the region’s future.

In her 9 years with the Forum, Heather has worked to build a coalition of regional partners focused on transforming the Northwest Indiana economic landscape; focusing on key performance indicators of population growth, increase in capital investment and per capita income growth. She is a registered lobbyist and has spent hundreds of hours advocating for economic development tools.

Previously as President of the Duneland Chamber of Commerce, she led an organization committed to improving the quality of life and breadth of economic opportunity within the five lakefront municipalities of Beverly Shores, Burns Harbor, Chesterton, Dune Acres and Porter.

Ennis is more than just a community leader, she serves as a catalytic voice for her constituents on a state and regional level as a member of the Indiana Economic Development Association Board and Legislative Committee, Metro Chambers Coalition, Indiana Vision 2025+, Indiana Defense Task Force, Indiana Chamber Workforce Advisory Council, 21st Century Talent Region Partner, Northwest Medical Board, Autonomous Vehicle Challenge Committee,  Unity Way of Northwest Indiana Board, Porter County Community Foundation Grant Committee and Champion of Ignite the Region.

Ennis credits her husband and son as the source of

Hanna is the former President and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA). Hanna joined the RDA and the state of Indiana in 2009 and has served under the RDA board of directors and the administrations of Indiana Governors Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence, and current Governor, Eric Holcomb. During Hanna’s tenure the RDA has facilitated more than $2.4 billion in new investment in infrastructure. The RDA and a coalition of private business representatives, community leaders, labor, and federal, state, and local officials worked together in an unprecedented way to deliver the largest investment in commuter rail transportation in the state’s history

Prior to his time at the RDA, Hanna was the City Manager and Deputy Mayor for the City of Valparaiso, the Economic Development Director for Valparaiso and Vice President of the Valparaiso Economic Development Corporation.

Hanna earned his Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University, his MBA from National-Louis University in Chicago, and his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management and Human Resources from Colorado Christian University.

His military career in the U.S. Army as an airborne qualified light infantryman (paratrooper) from 1995 to 1999 included membership in the Army’s Official Presidential Escort and service as a Sentinel (guard) and Head Trainer/Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C.

Hanna is a Community Foundation of Northwest Indiana (Community Health Systems) Board Member

A member of the Indianapolis Chamber Board of Directors

He is the Governor’s appointment to the following:

Indiana Commission on Higher Education
Chicago/Gary Aviation Compact
The Indiana Finance Authority
Indiana Toll Road Oversight Commission
Hanna was recently named one of the 250 most influential Hoosier by the Indiana Business Journal
He was also recently named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Eric Holcomb

Thomas McDermott, Jr. is the 20th Mayor of Hammond, Indiana’s 8th largest city. Over his 18 years as Mayor, Tom has brought in over a billion dollars in economic development to the city and has helped fund thousands of students’ higher education dreams with the College Bound Scholarship Program.

Tom served six years in the United States Navy as a nuclear submariner aboard the USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) during the Persian Gulf War. He served as a nuclear electrician in the sub's reactor plant and passed the strenuous U.S. Navy Dive School to become the ship's only diver.

After the Navy, Tom attended Purdue Northwest, earning high honors in Finance while working full time. Law school took Tom to South Bend, where he attended the University of Notre Dame. There, Tom worked in the school's Legal Aid office, providing legal services for the less fortunate. After receiving his law degree, Tom returned to Hammond to open his own law practice.

The initiative that Mayor Tom is most proud of, however, is the award-winning Hammond College Bound Scholarship Program, which has provided full-tuition scholarships to thousands of Hammond's graduating seniors. This program has received national attention and has been twice awarded the U.S. Conference of Mayor's City Livability Award.

Tom and his wife, Marissa, are proud parents to four children. Following 18 years of coaching youth baseball, Tom has recently turned to competing in triathlons. He is also a member of the St. John Bosco parish and numerous boards and community organizations.

Tom McDermott brings to his office a combination of real-world experience and old-fashioned love for his roots. Together, these create a man who is bringing positive change to Hammond and who wants to bring positive change to Indiana.

Kostas Gus Olympidis is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Family Express Corp. He has served on numerous For-Profit and Non-Profit Boards ranging from Banking to Environmental Management. He has championed sustainable Economic Development and Citizen-Centric Government.

Jody Peacock serves as Chief Executive Officer for Ports of Indiana, a statewide port authority operating three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan that generate $8.7 billion annually in economic impact. He was appointed CEO in 2023 after serving in various leadership roles at Ports of Indiana since 2001, most recently as Senior Vice President of Business Development.

Ports of Indiana was established in 1961 as a self-funded, quasi-governmental enterprise dedicated to growing Indiana’s economy by providing a modern port system that promotes agricultural, commercial, and industrial development. As CEO for the only state port authority in the Midwest, Mr. Peacock oversees three ports, 2,800 acres of multimodal industrial parks, three short-line railroads, and a statewide network of foreign-trade zones.

Mr. Peacock is a past recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest civilian honor, as well as the Distinguished Hoosier Award, and has been appointed by four Indiana governors to serve on regional and international boards. A lifelong Hoosier, Mr. Peacock grew up on a pig farm in eastern Indiana and earned an MBA from Indiana University.

Mr. Peacock is a champion of economic development and maritime issues, serving as a board member for One Southern Indiana, the Northwest Indiana Forum, the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership, the Foundation for Seaports of the Americas, and the Great Lakes Commission. He previously co-chaired the Great Lakes Governors & Premiers Regional Maritime Initiative and served on Indiana’s Volkswagen Trust Fund Committee.

Under his leadership, the Ports of Indiana has achieved record growth for three consecutive years and launched groundbreaking initiatives, including the creation of the largest general cargo operation on the Ohio River and the development of the nation’s first ocean container terminal in the largest container market. Mr. Peacock has also helped Ports of Indiana open its first new dock in 20 years, develop $40 million in federal grant projects, and formalize its first partnership agreements with three international container ports.

Ports of Indiana is now preparing to launch a transformational strategic plan that aims to double the size of its economic contributions to Indiana’s economy and position this unique statewide port system as a linchpin for the nation’s logistics network.