Kevin D. Malecek has served in a variety of capacities in the governmental, business, non-profit, and political arenas in Northeastern Ohio, USA. Currently, Malecek serves as Director of Economic Development and International Trade for the City of Mentor, Ohio. In that position, Malecek oversees economic development, business attraction, retention, and expansion efforts both domestically and internationally for one of the largest manufacturing and retail centers in the State of Ohio, representing over 200 manufacturers, 300 plus retailers, restaurants, and professional service firms, and nearly 50,000 Mentor residents. During his tenure, Mentor attracted such businesses as Trader Joe’s, Raising Cane’s, Condado Tacos, Meijer, large manufacturing and distribution employers, and completed development of the Cleveland Clinic Mentor hospital. Malecek orchestrated a relationship with a United Kingdom-based trade association that resulted in foreign direct investment in Mentor, the expansion of business prospects in the UK for Mentor-based companies, and an ongoing dialogue and exchange with various entities in the UK, Ireland, and Germany for further economic cooperation and development, including the organization of inbound and outbound trade missions. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021, he saw his office organize into a triage center for COVID-effected businesses, particularly in the retail, service, and manufacturing industries and worked with his staff to implement a grant program to aid COVID-shutdown businesses with stipends for rent and mortgage payments.

Before coming to the City of Mentor, Malecek was Lake County Commissioner and shared responsibilities with two fellow County Commissioners for the governance and operation of the county government of Lake County, Ohio, a county with a population of nearly 230,000 and a budget approaching $300 million dollars including agencies overseen

Prior to being Commissioner, Malecek was the President and CEO of the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce, a trade association serving over 600 members from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Under his leadership, the Chamber went from a deficit to a surplus in just under one year, implemented new programming highlighting diverse dining options in the Mentor area, and, in partnership with the city, began a Veterans' Discount program for goods and services which is now implemented countywide.  Prior to his appointment at the Chamber, Malecek was the Director of the nationally-ranked Part-Time MBA Program at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. While Director of the Part-Time MBA Program, he engineered corporate partnerships with organizations like the Cleveland Clinic and Alcoa.

 

Malecek currently serves at the Chairman of the Lake County Energy Special Improvement District (ESID), encouraging businesses to invest in energy efficient improvements to their properties through financing options. He also serves as a member of the Ohio Advisory Board for ERIEBANK, of the State Advisory Board for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the Lake Erie College Board of Directors, the British-American Chamber of Commerce of Ohio Board of Directors, as Vice Chair of the Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations. Kevin earned a Master of Arts in Government: Applied Politics and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from American University in Washington, DC.