Tompkins County Area Development hires Schwerin as new managing director of business services

as its new managing director of business services.

Schwerin will be responsible for business retention, expansion, and attraction initiatives, offering direct incentives, and developing relationships with business leaders, entrepreneurs, and a variety of stakeholders. He will provide direct assistance to retain, grow, and attract new business and industry in Tompkins County, TCAD said in a news release. The nonprofit TCAD, founded in 1964, is Tompkins County’s economic-development organization.

Before joining TCAD, Schwerin was a certified business advisor for the New York Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Binghamton University for three years, where he specialized in advising tech-based companies. There, he was also the New York State coordinator for FAST (Federal and State Technology), a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)-funded program that helps states enhance the use of Small Business Innovation Research grants.

Schwerin is a co-founder (and current board member) of a biotech spin-off from Binghamton University. He holds three patents on geographic information technology and received his master’s degree in urban policy and planning from Tufts University, TCAD said. He was an adjunct professor, teaching entrepreneurship, in Binghamton University’s School of Management.

“I am excited for Chuck to join the TCAD team. Chuck’s experience starting his own tech companies, as well as advising startups for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), provide him with the expertise and background to really understand the needs of businesses in the community and the knowledge of what services will benefit them most so they can start, stay, and grow here in Tompkins County,” Heather McDaniel, president of TCAD, said in the release.

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Photo credit: Tompkins County Area Development