Dan Seals to step down as CEO, Paulina San Millan to serve as interim CEO
CHICAGO, IL – Intersect Illinois today announced changes to its leadership team. After nearly three years in the position, Intersect Illinois CEO Dan Seals will step down at the end of the month. Intersect Illinois Senior Vice President of Business Development Paulina San Millan will serve as interim CEO while a search for Seals’ replacement takes place.
“Intersect Illinois has seen tremendous growth over Dan’s tenure and we truly appreciate his passion for economic development and his dedication to the state of Illinois,” said Intersect Illinois Chairman John Atkinson. “Dan has taken the organization to the next level and I’m confident that Paulina and the team will continue to build on the momentum that is strong throughout the state right now.”
Seals was appointed to lead Intersect Illinois in September of 2021, when he was hired to rejuvenate the organization into a powerful economic development tool for the state. Since then, he’s strengthened the organization’s reputation, built strong relationships with communities and organizations throughout the state, adopted an aggressive campaign to recruit companies, helped the organization reach record project volume, and led Intersect Illinois to help bring more than 5,000 new jobs and nearly $4 billion in investment to Illinois.
“I’m proud to have taken Intersect Illinois from being in start-up mode to becoming an essential part of economic development in Illinois,” said Seals. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve the state and will always be a strong supporter of Team Illinois. I’m confident that the team we’ve built will continue to take the organization to the next level.”
San Millan was recently promoted to Senior Vice President of Business Development, overseeing business development and attraction. She has 17 years of economic development experience and has focused on business recruitment for the last 12 years. San Millan has worked for the public, private and non-for-profit sectors. She previously worked as a site selection consultant, advising corporate decision-makers on location strategy, and before that for the state of New Mexico’s business recruitment and marketing organization.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen tremendous growth in Illinois and I’m grateful for Dan’s leadership and happy to step in and continue to build on our momentum,” said San Millan. “From electric vehicle manufacturing, to next generation agriculture, to quantum computing, companies are choosing to locate and expand here, and I’m excited for what is ahead.”
Headquartered in Chicago, Intersect Illinois employs people across business development, marketing and communications, research and operations teams. As the state’s business attraction organization, Intersect Illinois helps generate new jobs and investment by showcasing the state’s assets, collaborating with partners, and helping companies find a site to call home.
The organization works with industry, academic, civic and government partners to make it easier for companies to locate and expand, while also promoting Illinois’ unique assets including its unmatched talent, infrastructure, quality of life and ecosystems of support across a diverse range of industries. A non-profit, public-private partnership, Intersect Illinois acts as a free concierge for companies and site selection consultants, helping with site selection, project management, analytics, connecting clients with Illinois partners, and more.
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INTERSECT ILLINOIS is the statewide economic development organization focused on bringing new jobs and investment to the state. Intersect Illinois collaborates with industry, academic, and government partners throughout the state. To date, Intersect Illinois has helped bring over 16,900 jobs and $6.2 billion in investment to Illinois.
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