Manager of Economic and Business Development
ComEd
Ed Sitar (pronounced “sitter”), Manager of Economic and Business Development at ComEd, is responsible for the company’s economic development functions in the areas of marketing and promotion, new customer attraction, and large business retention. Ed has been a longtime ambassador of ComEd and the important role that electricity plays in the economic development process ensuring early engagement from development partners.
Professional History
For over 20 years, Ed has managed ComEd’s efforts to attract new business to the Northern Illinois region by working closely with municipalities, regional economic development organizations, and the State of Illinois. ComEd promotes Northern Illinois as a desirable business location to growing businesses by leveraging the company’s top-performing electric reliability, Illinois’ competitive electricity market (i.e., deregulation), smart grid benefits, as well as ComEd’s extensive energy efficiency incentive programs as critical factors to success in today’s high-tech business world. Ed has a particular focus on growing the data center industry and was active in the successful passage of new incentive legislation in Illinois in 2019. ComEd and its partners together successfully created over 200,000 new jobs in Northern Illinois since 2014.
Ed has also managed ComEd’s Business Visitation and Retention program, including helping launch a new statewide outreach program known as CORE (Creating Opportunities for Retention and Expansion). CORE is a large-scale effort across the State of Illinois Department of Commerce, Intersect Illinois, Ameren, Nicor, ComEd, and numerous local and regional economic development organizations. The CORE program provides a tool to economic development organizations and municipalities to help them keep their finger on the pulse of the local economy and ensure existing businesses in Illinois remain economically viable.
Ed started with ComEd in 1994 as an analyst in the Least-Cost Planning Department. He was involved with energy efficiency program planning including program development, implementation, evaluation, and analysis.
Civic Involvement
Ed serves on numerous corporate and economic development boards, including the Illinois Economic Development Association (past chair), the Utility Economic Development Association (past president), the Cook County Economic Development Advisory Council, Choose DuPage, the Economic Development Committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation, and the Chicago Fire Soccer Club’s Foundation Board of Directors.
Education
Ed holds a bachelor degree in Urban Planning and Development and a bachelor of science in Environmental Design, with a minor in Energy and Mineral Resources from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Family
Originally from Michigan, Ed resides in the City of Chicago with his wife, son, and daughter.