Gaylor Electric CEO Chuck Goodrich is Indiana’s next commerce secretary.
Gov. Mike Braun selected Goodrich, a former state representative from Noblesville, to lead Indiana’s commerce offices and agencies following the departure of David Adams earlier this week.
Goodrich will now oversee the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Indiana Destination Corp. and other agencies.
“I’m proud to announce today that Chuck Goodrich will be picking up the torch as Secretary of Commerce to continue region-led growth to attract and grow great job opportunities and higher wages in Indiana,” Braun said in a statement Thursday. “Chuck Goodrich is a business leader who has spent his career signing the front side of a paycheck, and he will be a tremendous leader for our mission to make life more affordable for Hoosiers, grow jobs and raise wages.”
In announcing Goodrich’s appointment, Braun’s office described Gaylor Electric as “one of the largest merit-shop electrical firms in the country.” His company, a non-union shop, is credited in the news release with developing more than 4,000 jobs since Goodrich became president in 2014.
Goodrich, who donated $25,000 to Braun’s gubernatorial campaign in 2024, previously served as chair of the National Associated Builders and Contractors, and now serves on Purdue University’s Construction Advisory Council and Indiana’s Region 5 Workforce Development Board.
He chaired an education subcommittee of the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee and was a member of the Education and Employment, Labor and Pensions committees.
“I’m grateful to Governor Braun for the opportunity to serve Hoosiers in this role,” Goodrich said in a statement. “I’ve spent my career building a company in Indiana, hiring Hoosiers, and investing in the workforce that makes growth possible.
“Indiana is building, growing, and moving forward. Businesses already here will keep growing, and job creators across the country will see what we already know: a workforce and a business environment like nowhere else. Indiana is open for business.”
Gaylor Electric received two incentives from the IEDC in 2024 — a $1.3 million EDGE tax credit and a $200,000 Hoosier Business Investment tax credit. The company promised to hire 140 new employees by the end of 2025. Indiana Capital Chronicle is seeking compliance documents.
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