Tech, ag leader Mitch Frazier named president of IBJ Media

Mitch Frazier, CEO of agbioscience initiative AgriNovus Indiana, is joining IBJ Media in the role of president.

IBJ Media CEO and Publisher Nate Feltman shared news of Frazier’s appointment with IBJ Media’s staff on Friday. Feltman, who will relinquish his role as company president, said Frazier will oversee day-to-day operations for the parent company of Indianapolis Business Journal, Inside INdiana Business and The Indiana Lawyer.

“I’m counting on him, from a business development perspective, to help us continue to grow around the state with new relationships,” Feltman said of Frazier. “I’m planning to work more on the strategy and idea side. I will work to create some new opportunities for us.”

Frazier, who has been on IBJ Media’s Indiana 250 since the list’s inception in 2022, will exit AgriNovus Indiana after five years with the nonprofit launched by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. The Tipton County native serves as chair of the Indiana State Fair Commission, and his resume includes stints as CEO of Reynolds Farm Equipment from 2016 to 2019 and chief of staff for ExactTarget when the Indianapolis-based tech company was acquired by Salesforce in 2013.

In 2006, Feltman—who was then Indiana’s secretary of commerce—hired Frazier to serve as director of media relations at the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

“I’m a huge believer that you bring in people who have been successful—and Mitch has been a success,” Feltman said. “He’s been a successful CEO of a for-profit company and of a nonprofit organization and a successful leader in government. He’ll bring his ideas and experiences from other places and help us work those into our growth as well.”

Mitch Frazier, CEO of agbioscience initiative AgriNovus Indiana, is joining IBJ Media in the role of president.

After wrapping up his tenure at AgriNovus Indiana on June 6, Frazier will begin at IBJ Media on June 16.

As a high school student in the 1990s, Frazier was a correspondent and photographer for The Tipton County Tribune. His journalism experience continued when he worked as a reporter and then public affairs specialist in the U.S. Army.

Frazier said joining IBJ Media allows him to combine his love of news, business and Indiana.

“Local news ownership matters in a world where we are surrounded by a sea of content,” Frazier said. “It’s context that local media provides, and the IBJ, Inside INdiana Business, The Indiana Lawyer and the entire suite of products and publications serve that critical role in our community.”

In addition to serving as president, Frazier will become a minority shareholder in IBJ Media.

The Upper Iowa University alum said he’s eager to work with Feltman once again.

“To have the chance to work with a guy who has been so successful is really attractive,” Frazier said of Feltman. “To have the opportunity to work with a friend is really important. And to have the opportunity to lead this next chapter of this critical asset in our community with someone who cares as deeply as I do about the future of our region and our state is exhilarating.”

Feltman became a minority owner of IBJ Media in 2017, increased his ownership stake in 2020 when he became CEO and publisher, and became the company’s sole owner in March 2024. During that time, the company has experienced consistent year-over-year growth, doubled the number of events it hosts and increased circulation of IBJ.

“As I’ve thought about taking the next leap forward for our company, I have consistently thought about Mitch Frazier as the person who could help us on our growth path,” Feltman said. “I see lots of opportunities for continued growth, but in order to execute those ideas, I feel strongly we need to add to our management and leadership team, and he’s just the right guy.”

In Feltman’s role as publisher, he will continue to directly supervise the newsrooms of the IBJ, Inside INdiana Business and The Indiana Lawyer.