Governor Braun Announces New Leadership Role for Secretary David Adams Supporting Indiana’s Life Sciences Initiative

Photo of David Adams, Indiana Secretary of Commerce. Photo taken on February 13, 2025. Photo Credit Chad Williams.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun today announced that David Adams will transition from his role as Indiana Secretary of Commerce on June 30, 2026, following a successful tenure on the Braun administration’s core economic development priorities of growing wages and new job opportunities for Hoosiers. Adams will continue to serve the state through December 2026 as Senior Advisor to the Governor on the Life Sciences Initiative.

“When I asked David Adams to become Indiana’s Secretary of Commerce, I charged him with building a more aligned, more accountable approach to economic growth. Over the last eighteen months, he has not only delivered on that mission, but he established the foundation for Indiana’s next generation of economic opportunity.” — Governor Mike Braun

“The opportunity to serve Indiana across three administrations has been one of the greatest honors of my career. I am proud of what we accomplished together and am grateful to Governor Braun for the opportunity to help complete the next phase of the $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. My focus over the coming months will be helping to ensure the initiative is positioned for long-term success.” — Secretary of Commerce David Adams

Since becoming Indiana’s Secretary of Commerce, David Adams has led the state’s efforts to align and reorganize economic development, workforce development, entrepreneurship, innovation, tourism and regional growth strategies under a unified vision.

With Adams as Secretary of Commerce, Governor Braun achieved the highest wage growth for incentivized jobs in state history, reduced incentive costs to taxpayers by nearly $350 million, launched the Power Up Indiana and IN AI initiatives, strengthened regional economic development strategies across all 15 regions, and expanded entrepreneurship opportunities that helped propel Indiana from 43^rd to 12^th nationally in new entrepreneur activity.

An announcement naming Indiana’s next Secretary of Commerce will be made later this week.