David Egner was named executive director of the New Economy Initiative in 2009. Under Egner’s leadership the New Economy Initiative has targeted grant making to capitalize on existing regional assets and resources, to build and employ a more skilled and educated workforce, and to promote a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem, In addition, Egner continues to serve as president and CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation, a position he has held since 1997.

Egner has more than 20 years of experience working with nonprofits and foundations, from early years as executive assistant to the chairman of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek to guiding the Michigan Nonprofit Association, a Lansing-based coalition, through its development and mergers.

Egner serves on the boards of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the Council of Michigan Foundations Inc., among others and is chair of the Michigan Future board of directors and leadership council. Egner is a graduate of Leadership Detroit Class XIX and chaired the Leadership Detroit Trustees from 2007-10. In 2006, Egner was appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm as a member of the Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs and in 2009 he was named one of Crain’s Newsmakers of the Year for his work with both the Hudson-Webber Foundation and NEI.

Egner has an M.B.A from Western Michigan University and a B.A. from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He lives with his wife Tammy and their four children in metro Detroit.