Schultz hired as first CEO for Sault Tribe, Inc.
SAULT STE. MARIE — Sault Tribe, Incorporated announced on Friday that Joel Schultz, head of Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians’ Economic Development Corporation, has been hired as Sault Tribe, Inc.’s first CEO.
Schultz, who was selected from over 50 applicants for the position, was the unanimous choice of the Sault Tribe, Incorporated’s board of directors. Board members conducted over a dozen interviews before selecting a group of three finalists, all of whom were Native American. Final panel interviews for finalists focused on demonstrated business acumen, experience managing multiple businesses and vision for creating generational economic opportunity for Sault Tribe membership.
“We had many strong candidates from all over the country, but in the end, Joel’s skillset and knowledge of the ways that Sault Tribe, Incorporated as a holding company can grow and thrive to best serve Sault Tribe were apparent,” said Alan Barr, Sault Tribe, Incorporated’s Acting Board Chair, in a press release. “We are excited to support him in this role and to see his unique talents applied to Sault Tribe, Incorporated. We’ve been able to observe his strong business acumen firsthand as he served as acting CEO while also running the Tribe’s economic development corporation. Our achievements to date at Sault Tribe, Incorporated, are due in large part to Joel’s vision and foresight.”
Schultz is expected to take the helm of Sault Tribe, Incorporated in January, where initial focus will be on NationPoint, a joint venture between Sault Tribe, Incorporated, subsidiary Chippewa Government Solutions and Sault Tribe member-owned Tipping Point Solutions that was the recent awardee of a $7 million project with the U.S. Army.
In addition to online gaming and other ongoing business initiatives, near-term projects include securing initial joint venture projects for Sault Tribe, Incorporated, subsidiary Ojibway Hazardous Abatement and Hawkeye Facility Services. Sault Tribe, Incorporated also intends to continue plans to collaborate and support the Sault Tribe Board of Directors regarding a possible role in supporting existing Tribal economic development corporation activities during this transition.
“I believe that the Section 17 legal structure uniquely created to structure Tribal efforts in economic development is the best practice for diversification, and under the direction of the Sault Tribe Board of Directors, I have worked on that structure and subsequent subsidiaries for several years now,” said Schultz in an email. “The recent successes of online gaming, our hazardous material abatement effort, and especially our recent SBA 8a certification in online training video modules leading to our first awarded contract from the U.S. Army have prepared Sault Tribe Inc for continuous, sustained growth. The EDC director position was a big opportunity for me as a Sault Tribe member and the STI CEO position is a very nice step for me in my career path serving the Sault Tribe.”
Schultz said that identifying work to be done to populate Sault Tribe, Inc. is not a challenge and upon transition, he plans to begin building the internal infrastructure to support the tribe’s growth path. Longer-term, Sault Tribe, Incorporated is expected to continue to focus on scalable business ventures that can offer high-skill and high-pay jobs to some of the over 40,000 Sault Tribe members that reside across the United States. Plans also include continuing to support and expand the Sault Tribe’s regional economic priorities, to include growing job opportunities for Eastern Upper Peninsula-based Sault Tribe members.
Schultz’s immediate steps will be to follow the direction of the Sault Tribe Board of Directors to secure continued operation and delivery from their EDC and enterprises.
“It was a long process, and a bit of a roller coaster and a difficult decision for my family and I,” said Schultz in an email. “But in the end, when it was both an opportunity to personally better myself and family while building upon the framework and growth that I’ve been contributing to over the last five years. I received the notification with a sense of relief and accomplishment and an awareness of a significant workload that I’m about to take on.”
Schultz described the Sault Tribe as a government first, serving a population of members with diverse and unique expectations and ideologies. Schultz’s goal is to stay rooted in his desire to positively impact the Sault Tribe as a whole, understand the goals and objectives in front of him and pursue them to the best of his ability.
The scalable, national, multi-million dollar efforts that Sault Tribe, Inc. will be pursuing will have them operating out of cities across the country, but the local/regional impact that is possible with their growth could be significant, Schultz added. He said the benefit of Sault Tribe, Inc. is not just corporate, nor tribal, but will make a regional impact.
“Sault Tribe, Inc. will look to focus its growth in scalable, national companies and efforts that benefit from the unique statuses of Tribal businesses,” said Schultz in an email. “Our goal will include building wealth for a sustainable way of life for the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians.”
For more information about the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, visit www.saulttribe.com.
— Contact News Reporter Taylor Worsham at tworsham@sooeveningnews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Schultz hired as first CEO for Sault Tribe, Inc.
