STEVENS POINT, WI. July 14, 2016 – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Board of Directors today elected new officers at its meeting at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Lisa Mauer, CEO of Rickert Industries in Milwaukee, who has more than 25 years of private-sector management experience, was elected president of the board. She replaces Dan Ariens, president and CEO of the Ariens Co., who was elected vice chairman.

Nancy Hernandez, president and founder of ABRAZO Multicultural Marketing and Communication, was re-elected secretary, and David Drury, a partner with Milwaukee-based Wing Capital Group, was re-elected treasurer.

Mauer is the former owner of three Wisconsin businesses that served the metalworking manufacturing industry, and is a former senior vice president of BlackHawk Industrial Distribution, which provides industrial products and equipment for metalworking companies. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Mauer has served on the boards of the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Industrial Distributors Association and the Wauwatosa Economic Development Corporation.

“As leaders of WEDC, our focus will remain on the strategic positioning of the organization and its mission as it continues to grow and make a tremendous difference in Wisconsin’s economic development landscape,” said Mauer, who has been a WEDC Board member since 2011. “Our journey is about outreach and continuous improvement as we work together to support state, regional and local economic development efforts, as well as provide transparency and accountability to the governor, the Legislature and Wisconsin taxpayers.”

The board on Thursday also welcomed two new members: James Ladwig, president and CEO, Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce, and R.D. Nair, professor of accounting and information systems at the Wisconsin School of Business.

A former county executive and register of deeds for Racine County, Ladwig oversees the day-to-day operations of the county’s largest business organization.

Nair, a CPA who is current a member of WEDC’s Audit Committee, has been on the faculty of the School of Business at UW-Madison since 1978, and primarily teaches at the graduate level in the school’s executive MBA program.