TPMA announced today a new CEO and managing partner will succeed president and CEO Tom Miller, who started the firm in 1989.
Mark Gramelspacher, a seasoned executive and longtime civic leader with 30 years experience leading and helping companies grow and adapt to the needs of a changing economy, will take over the company’s strategy and operations on January 2. Gramelspacher, who lives in Indianapolis, most recently served as an Executive Director and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Elevate Ventures. At TPMA, he will focus on continued growth and high-quality client service, while Miller will remain engaged part-time, focusing on generating major business development ideas for the firm.
“It’s been my greatest professional joy to start TPMA and build it from a two-person company to the nearly 50-person team we comprise today, and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished to help communities in Indiana and across the U.S. build more robust economies and local workforces,” Miller said. “I’m thrilled to be handing over leadership of this company to a trusted advisor, respected business leader, and dear friend who is known not only for his strategic acumen, but also for his efforts to improve his community.”
Gramelspacher’s experience ranges from starting companies to helping legacy companies reorganize product and service offerings and supporting startups at various growth stages. He’s consulted with businesses across the country and the globe.
A native of Jasper, Ind., he began his career working in his family’s businesses in retail service and manufacturing and taught elementary school in Puerto Rico before becoming a lawyer, entrepreneur, and executive advisor. His civic involvement includes graduating from the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Program, serving on the boards of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and LISC Indianapolis, and serving as a trustee and officer for an independent primary school in Indianapolis. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and IU Maurer School of Law.
“It’s an immense honor to assume leadership of a consulting firm that has become an institution in our community and an invaluable partner to communities nationwide,” Gramelspacher said. “I believe in the transformative force of economic empowerment to improve lives and create a more inclusive society, and I hope to continue and even expand the legacy TPMA has established over the years in that regard.”
Miller, who led what is now the Indiana Department of Workforce Development under Gov. Robert Orr and Lt. Gov. John Mutz, started TPMA after helping pioneer the concept of workforce development as an integral piece of economic development strategy. During three decades of business and countless engagements across the country, TPMA has leveraged that concept to work with on projects ranging from helping workers in coal country transition to new industries to partnering with community colleges in creating job pathways for students who earn education beyond high school.
TPMA made IBJ’s “Fast 25” list recognizing Indianapolis’ fastest growing private companies in 2016 and ranked #6 on that list in 2017.