Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence today named Melanie Walker Hart to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) Board of Directors, effective immediately. She will replace Jim Schellinger, now president of the IEDC, and serve the remainder of his four-year term which expires in March 2017.
Hart currently serves as chief executive officer of Japan-based Tsuchiya Group North America and as the president of its five subsidiary companies, which together employ more than 500 associates. This includes TASUS Corporation in Bloomington, which was established in 1989 as the company’s first operation in North America and manufactures plastic interior and exterior automotive parts. Hart was named president of TASUS Corporation in 1994, and is the first and youngest female president of a Japanese owned manufacturing company in North America. Under her tenure, the company added three additional operations in Texas, Alabama and Ontario and established a headquarters in Bloomington.
Hart has more than 30 years of global industry management experience, having held previous positions with Schlegel Corporation and Mobil Oil and Chemical, and is an active member of both the Bloomington community and the state. She was named president of the Japan-America Society of Indiana this year and was appointed to the State of Indiana Workforce Innovation Council. Additional professional affiliations and board positions include Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Credit Union, U.S. Department of Commerce Select USA Summit, Ditchley Foundation, Susie’s Place Child Advocacy Center, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, Monroe County Community Foundation and the American Heart Association Executive Leadership Team.
Hart earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University, and has been an Indiana resident for 26 years.
