Jennifer Owens joins Southwest Michigan First as new CEO, reflects on her years at Lakeshore Advantage

As president of Lakeshore Advantage, Jennifer Owens did not judge success by how fast a project was finished. She judged it by how well people with different interests could work together toward a common goal — even if it took years.

That idea guided Owens during her 12 years leading the economic development organization.

In that time, Lakeshore Advantage helped bring more than $2 billion in private investment to the region, supported the creation of more than 2,300 jobs, and raised more than $10 million to open The Next Center. This downtown Holland building is home to more than 50 startup companies.

Now, Owens is leaving Lakeshore Advantage to become the next CEO of Southwest Michigan First. The move marks a return to an organization she knows well. Before joining Lakeshore Advantage in 2014, she was vice president of business attraction at the Kalamazoo-based economic development organization.

Lakeshore Advantage Vice President Mandy Cooper will serve as interim CEO while the board conducts a national search for Owens’ successor.

“Jennifer has been a transformational leader for Lakeshore Advantage,” Board Chair Jeff Stutz says. “Under her leadership, we built a high-performing team and a durable foundation of data-driven strategy, trusted investor relationships and measurable community impact.”

Owens says that during her tenure, the organization’s biggest accomplishments came from tackling challenges that took years to solve, not projects that produced quick results.

“I love those big, meaty projects, not those one-offs,” she says. “Those ones that take multiple years to get done.”

When asked what it takes to move an idea from concept to completion, her answer comes without hesitation.

“Patience, relationships, being a little bit wacky to think I can make it happen,” she says, crediting persistence as much as vision.

That perspective guided much of Lakeshore Advantage’s work. The organization helped local businesses grow, supported new business owners, helped people find jobs, and worked with communities on projects that would help them for years to come.

Curiosity drove her down career path

Owens did not plan to work in economic development.

She earned a journalism degree from Michigan State University because she loved asking questions and telling stories. After college, she joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Business Report. There, she interviewed business owners, manufacturers, and community leaders from across Michigan.

Those conversations opened a door she hadn’t expected.

“It was just that curiosity, that ability to connect with people, being brave and asking questions,” Owens says. “I kind of fell into it and found what I loved just based on being curious and resourceful.”

The work satisfied the same curiosity that first drew her to journalism. Each interview offered a glimpse into how businesses grow, how communities tackle challenges, and how leaders turn ideas into action.

Business was also part of her life’s story.

Her grandfather owned a die-casting company, giving her an early look at the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship. Later, she and her husband, Mike, spent 10 years owning and operating restaurants in metro Detroit while she built her career.

Those experiences changed the way she viewed business owners.

“To be an entrepreneur, you have to be a little bit crazy,” she says with a laugh. “It’s hardwired in me to look outside of what is now to see what could be.”

Another influence came from her mother.

After raising a family, her mother returned to school at age 50, earned a master’s degree from Western Michigan University and began a second career as a child and family counselor.

“Seeing my mom at 50 recreate herself taught me it’s never too late,” Owens says. “You can do whatever you put your mind to.”

Owens eventually made her own career leap.

When Southwest Michigan First recruited her to Kalamazoo, she and Mike faced a decision that changed the direction of their family. He left the restaurant business to stay home with their two young sons while she accepted a leadership role in economic development.

She credits her husband’s support with allowing her to pursue a career she quickly discovered she loved.

“I could not have done that without him,” Owens says. “Sometimes you have to let go of dreams as a family to allow something else to happen.”

Building The Next Center

She returns to Southwest Michigan First with more than a dozen years of experience leading Lakeshore Advantage and a better understanding of how strong partnerships help communities grow.

Owens says the projects she remembers most are not the ones finished quickly. They are the ones that took years of patience, hard work, and people working together.

That includes one of the biggest projects of her career: The Next Center, a permanent home for Lakeshore entrepreneurs.

When Owens joined Lakeshore Advantage in 2014, entrepreneurs starting businesses did not have one place where they could meet, learn from each other, or connect with investors and business mentors.

“It took a good 10 years to get to the point where we could actually build a building and have that center,” Owens says. “Being able to fundraise the $10 million to move it forward and then to see it has really exceeded all my expectations.”

The Next Center is home to more than 50 startups. The building has become more than office space. It is a gathering place where entrepreneurs share ideas, connect with mentors, and build companies together.

“I’m really proud of it,” Owens says. “It’s owned by our entrepreneurs, and they are creating the next great businesses.”

Lakeshore Advantage Vice President of Entrepreneurship Nora Vandenbrink says Owens championed that work long before the building opened. She describes Owens as “a passionate advocate for our entrepreneurship initiatives.” 

The same approach carried into other large economic development projects.

Owens points to the reconstruction of the Zeeland interchange along Interstate 196 as one example. The $8 million project improved truck access for manufacturers and logistics companies while easing congestion for commuters. Success depended on businesses, local governments, and state agencies working toward the same goal.

Another example came in Coopersville, where Lakeshore Advantage helped secure $60 million in water and wastewater improvements to support Fairlife and Continental Dairy Facilities, while expanding infrastructure for future growth throughout the community.

Neither project happened overnight.

One piece of advice from an early mentor has stayed with Owens throughout her career.

“Persistence, relentlessly applied,” she says.

Working together

She says the biggest challenge isn’t finding good ideas. It’s bringing together people with different priorities and keeping everyone focused on a shared outcome.

“Being able to bring a multitude of parties together to work toward a common goal has very much been the secret of some of these big projects moving forward,” Owens says.

That philosophy influenced relationships beyond Ottawa and Allegan counties.

Owens worked closely with the West Coast Chamber of Commerce and six neighboring chambers, as well as economic development organizations across Michigan.

“We work really hard to make sure that it is 100% collaboration, not competition,” she says.

As she prepares to return to Southwest Michigan First, she expects those relationships to continue.

“We’re all Team Michigan,” Owens says. “We really don’t compete against each other.”

While buildings, infrastructure projects and investment totals often draw the headlines, Owens says her greatest accomplishment isn’t something people can see on a map.

It’s the team that will carry the work forward.

“The team that I’ve been able to build is by far the best team I’ve ever had a chance to lead,” she says.

She believes leadership means preparing others to step into bigger roles long before they’re needed. Watching colleagues grow into leadership positions has become one of the most rewarding parts of her career.

“This organization is not about me,” Owens says. “It’s about this deep bench of leaders.”

Incoming Board Chair Kyle Verplank agrees Owens leaves behind an organization ready for its next chapter.

“Jennifer has led Lakeshore Advantage with tremendous vision, heart and conviction in the future of this region,” Verplank says. “Her impact can be seen not only in the projects and investments she helped advance, but in the strong team, partnerships and organization she leaves behind.”

Community members will have an opportunity to thank Owens during an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. July 21 at The Next Center.

As Owens transitions to her next chapter, she says the lesson she’ll carry with her is the same one that guided her work on the Lakeshore.

“It’s never about me or just Lakeshore Advantage,” she says. “It’s more about the community. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit. It’s what the community needs.”