By Renee Larr

A new dynamic duo is coming to Fishers. While Batman and Robin fight crime, Brandon Dickinson and Megan Baumgartner will be working to position Fishers as an economic powerhouse in the Midwest. Both began their roles in July as director and assistant director of economic development, respectively.

The pair already have a plan of action for how they will divide up their duties and responsibilities.

“The way we plan to proceed going forward is Megan will be the face and the early introducer when we have leads. She’s the person who goes out and meets with folks. She takes them out to some of the real estate that we might have available here in the city. Where I come in is the back end of a deal. When the deals begin to formalize that is when I get involved and we as a team, we take it to the finish line together,” said Dickinson.

The two will be joining forces with assistant director of economic development, Tim Gropp.

“I think that in working with Tim Gropp we all have really unique skills sets that when we bring them all together will be a great combination. We’re able to piggyback off of each other. It’s like a relay with the way we will work these projects. All of us will touch it and work in tandem with each other. I think it’s going to be really unique and a really powerful force for us,” said Baumgarnter of the team.

Both have prior experience working in economic development. Baumgartner had a 14 county territory including Hamilton County during her time at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

“On a weekly basis I worked with Tim and Mayor Fadness on different projects that were coming through our pipeline. So, I have that experience coming from the other side at the state level. I’m really excited to get the opportunity to get kind of deeper into these projects making them a little more personal if you will working at the local level,” said Baumgartner.

Dickinson formally worked as director of enterprise development with the city of Indianapolis.

“I had a background in the city of Indianapolis with department of code enforcement where I oversaw the permits and licensing department so I have a background in some of the nitty gritty city details that often times have a big impact on economic development. Most recently I was on the cabinet for Mayor Ballard as the director of enterprise development where I worked with the deputy mayor of economic development, Adam Collins,” said Dickinson.

The pair have hit the ground running and know what they hope to accomplish in their new roles.

“What we want to do is to develop an active business retention and outreach program. We want to be a leader in regional economic development discussions and with that we have some other systems and process we want to improve internally, but our goal is to make Fishers as strong as it can be and a leader in economic development. We think we really have that opportunity given our mayor and our very strong city council and the natural and physical resources. We want Fishers to be that entrepreneurial city,” said Dickinson.