Dean F. Whittaker
Founder & President
Whittaker Associates
Holland, MI
Dean F. Whittaker is President/CEO of Whittaker Associates Inc., a data analytics company providing target marketing research and trend analysis to economic development, real estate, and corporate clients. They specialize in identifying business opportunities by predicting corporate behavior through the use of their propriety predictive analytic algorithm.
With 30 years of experience in economic development at the city, county, and state levels, Mr. Whittaker brings insight and perspective to regional economic development issues. He also provides an understanding of the trends impacting our possible, probable, and preferred futures.
Mr. Whittaker is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute of the University of Oklahoma and has taught there for 30 years regarding the application of information technology to Economic Development. He is a certified economic developer by the International Economic Development Association and holds a certificate in Innovation Methodology from the New North Center for Design in Business. His academic credentials are from Illinois State University and the University of Illinois.
He has served as the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Resources and Applied Research at Ball State University as well as the Director of the Economic Development Academy prior to founding Whittaker Associates, Inc.
Mr. Whittaker is a frequent blogger (author) and speaker on the trends impacting economic development and how communities can prepare for the future using innovation and design. He is also a founding partner of the Pro Learning Laboratory, a collaboration of firms dedicated to providing monthly webinars about important topics to economic developers.