Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) announced the hiring of Nate LiaBraaten to head up business development efforts for the greater Bend area. In this role, he will be working to help local traded-sector companies grow, helping with recruitment projects and coordinating with ongoing industry consortia efforts. (Traded-sector companies are those that do the bulk of their business outside Central Oregon, thereby importing wealth and enlarging the Tri-County economy.)
LiaBraaten’s experience includes relationship management for Vencore Capital, a Portland-based venture capital group providing debt and equity funding for early stage companies. He was also a financial manager with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and has consulted with financial services company Raymond James.
As a volunteer, he has been actively helping entrepreneurs and seed-stage ventures serving as a business plan review coordinator for the Oregon Entrepreneur’s Network (OEN), presentation coach for the Bend Venture Conference (BVC) and program development committee member with VentureBox accelerator. He also serves on the board of directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
A Bend native, LiaBraaten is a graduate of the University of Oregon, where he majored in psychology and business administration with a minor in economics. He also earned his MBA at the Lundquist College of Business. LiaBraaten replaces Eric Strobel who left the position in December 2011 after nearly six years at EDCO. LiaBraaten’s work at EDCO began February 6.
Express Employment Professionals conducted an extensive search on behalf of EDCO for the Business Development Manager position. “The candidate pool was strong,” said Karen Turner, managing director of Express Employment Professionals’ Specialized Recruiting Group. “Over 60 candidates from 12 states applied and seven were interviewed as semifinalists. From the final four candidates, representing three states, Nate was selected for his background in helping both start-up and established organizations create business plans, secure funding and develop sound marketing strategies.”
“Nate is a long-time Central Oregonian and is passionate about seeing the business community succeed in our region,” added Roger Lee, Executive Director for EDCO. “In his first three months, Nate will be meeting with traded-sector companies in Bend to better understand their needs and identify opportunities for growth.”
About Economic Development for Central Oregon
Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) is a private non-profit corporation founded over 30 years ago and dedicated to building a vibrant and thriving regional economy by attracting new investment and traded-sector jobs (manufacturing, professional, headquarters and high technology businesses) through marketing, recruitment and substantive assistance to existing companies. Learn more about EDCO at www.edcoinfo.com.
