Eric P. Canada is the Managing Director of Cluster Initiatives, Synchronist Lab. He provides strategic direction, operations manager, quality control, and resource recruitment/management. He develops tools for cluster participant assessments. He coordinates CRM, database construction as well as marketing and public relations.Cluster Initiative Chief Operations Officer, responsible for managing cluster initiative operations, marketing, legal documents, and partner recruitment. Built Peoria, IL metal working cluster to 38 SME Caterpillar suppliers and 6 OEMs in under 15-months generating over $2M new sales. Launched South Cook County, IL metal cluster in the shadow of COVID, building it to 57 companies in 18 months while taking participants on trade missions. First tradeshow event secured 60 quality business prospects for cluster participants. This work secured significant government funding in Rockford and South Cook clusters prior to transitioning to local management.Software Development, Conducted research on alternate strategies for business retention and expansion executive interviews. Research led to Synchronist Business Information System software which managed business retention interview data and calculated each unique company’s Value, Growth potential, Risk of leaving the community, and level of Satisfaction. Over 1,500 economic development organizations utilized Synchronist software for data analysis and reporting of over 624,000 executive interviews.Innovator, created the only objective, business assessment model in economic development, U.S. Patent No. 6,757,660.B2, to evaluate the Value, Growth, Risk, and Satisfaction of local employers via personal interviews. 624,000 executive interviews provided national Key Performance Indicators and 22-years of historic data.Researcher, conducted and published periodic research projects – business retention, economic development marketing, organizational benchmarking – to advance the profession.Collaborator, consistently formed groups of aligned interest into working groups to solve problems and create opportunities, e.g. 8-member business retention research coalition; 3-cluster manufacturing initiatives; and the National 2020 COVID Response Network of over 325 EDO to share COVID responses, online interview methods, Produced national data dashboard.Economic Development Professional, worked in communities and statewide to encourage growth. Conducted over 900 one-on-one manufacturing executive interviews in a wide spectrum of industries.