MAGNET president will retire next year; Gage led manufacturing champion for 16 years

BYLINE: Alison Grant, Plain Dealer Reporter

Stephen Gage, who led the manufacturing booster MAGNET and its predecessor for 16 years, said Friday that he plans to retire from the organization by June 30.

Gage said in a written statement that he is timing his departure to follow MAGNET's January launch of its "Dream It, Do It" and "Competitiveness Challenge" campaigns, and the expected completion of a capital fund-raising drive in the first quarter of 2007.

"The opportunity to make a departure that is seamless and non-disruptive to progress is approaching," he said.

MAGNET Vice Chairman Arthur Anton, chief executive of Swagelok Co. in Solon, has hired a local executive recruiting search firm to identify candidates and manage the search for Gage's successor.

MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, champions manufacturing in Northern Ohio. It offers analysis, consulting, training and management support.

Gage joined as president in 1990, when it was called CAMP Inc.

He led the nonprofit's transition into a broader role that includes advocacy to make the region more manufacturing-friendly. MAGNET also has partnered with area educators for training in advanced manufacturing techniques. He became MAGNET's president with a salary of $165,000 this year.

Gage previously led several economic development nonprofits during the late 1980s, including Indiana's Corporation for Science & Technology and the Midwest Technology Development Institute.

He was on vacation and could not be reached Friday. In a brief, year-end communication with MAGNET's board and staff, Gage said he plans to stay in the region.

Anton said Gage's shoes will be hard to fill.

"Steve's legacy . . . is one that is widely respected in both manufacturing and nonprofit arenas," Anton said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: agrant@plaind.com, 216-999-4758