Professional Biography of Nancy Cotterill

Summary:

Nancy Cotterill’s background includes work as an award-winning journalist and editorial writer, business owner, manager for a public company, active civic volunteer and television host. Her career has involved exploration of business, health and societal issues in print, television interview and panel discussion formats. Following is brief description of her professional history.

Web-based writer, "nurse": 1999-Present:

After the sale of CEO magazine, Cotterill developed a web-based writing service aimed primarily at small business. It was during this period that her husband suffered a near-fatal accident that left him temporarily paralyzed. He required significant personal round-the-clock care which caused her to develop nursing skills. Cotterill is a much better writer and editor than nurse.

Executive Editor of Indianapolis C.E.O. magazine, 1992-1998:

Cotterill wrote columns and managed a staff of writers and production people in the manufacture of a monthly 4-color magazine that was circulated to approximately 150,000 readers. She planned and organized the monthly “Roundtable” discussions that become a hallmark of the magazine’s editorial product. These discussions brought together the most prominent opposing viewpoints to explore volatile issues facing member so of the central Indiana business community. Thoroughly researched, Cotterill acted as host and moderator for these discussions which included such issues as:

• State and federal legislative agendas impacting business in the region

• Health-care initiatives and how the impact the poor

• Environmental programs, legislation and the industries they affected

• Minority business affairs from an economic and social perspective

• Overview of the changing face of such industries as commercial real estate, insurance, health care and banking

• Dissection of city and state development initiatives and their impacts on neighborhoods, the local tax-base and growth and development goals

• State of the non-for-profit community and the importance of corporate involvement

During this time she was recognized with the following awards:

• The U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Small Business Media Advocate of the Year,” Regional (five state) Winner 1993

• Butler University’s Alumni Achievement Award, 1994

Publisher, Indianapolis Business Journal, 1987-1992

As Publisher of the Indianapolis Business Journal, Cotterill was hired to improve sales which had dropped 30 percent below projected levels. During that period she reconfigured the sales department, cut costs, implemented a move to downtown office space and introduced the most profitable period the company had experienced in the Indianapolis market. She increased sales from $2 million to more than $4 million bringing approximately 40 percent of that to the bottom line in profit. Heading a staff of roughly 50 people at the company, she also started a new publication, the Indiana Lawyer and added the Indianapolis Commercial through a purchase.

During her tenure as publisher Cotterill continued to write her column and spearheaded the development of an Education Report that was produced annually, giving the local corporate community a report card on Indianapolis Public Schools and promoting the efforts of improving educational advantages in our city.

During this period she was recognized with the following awards:

• The Prodigy of Indianapolis Award for “Outstanding support of non-profit organizations and charitable causes”

• The Herrick Award, a national newspaper association laurel for first amendment editorial writing

• The U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Small Business Media Advocate of the Year” (Local)

• The Thomas R. Keating Memorial Award for Excellence in Journalism

Editor, Indianapolis Business Journal, 1980-1987

Cotterill engineered the start up of the editorial product in Indianapolis, hiring the staff and working with production people. She oversaw the change from typesetting to computer layout and gained a beta test site rating from Apple computer giving the paper access to Apple programming staff. During the period she oversaw the growth of the paper from one title to more than 60 which included weekly special sections, monthly magazines and annual record books. As editor, Cotterill managed a department that grew from one to fifteen writers and five production personnel. She was involved in procurement of office space, leasing and purchase of equipment.

Editorial Director, 1983-1987

In addition to her job as editor, she worked as editorial director hiring and training the editorial staffs in expansion markets for the corporation and working with them to get the first issues published. As editorial director for the chain of 10 publications she oversaw editorial departments in various cities, including Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Baltimore.

Anchor, “Indiana Business Weekly” 1983-1988

Cotterill was co-host for five years during this time on the local PBS channel series “Indiana Business Weekly” a half-hour show consisting of news briefs and interviews. Local political and business leaders were guests to discuss business-related topics in a “Meet the Press” type format. Each show ended with her editorial on a topical subject of the week. Frequent half-hour specials featuring Cotterill as host were also produced during this time in a panel discussion format on subjects such as:

• The decline of organized labor union participation nationally and locally

• Women in business and the corporate “glass ceiling” issue

• Health care delivery and the impact of the National Health Care Initiative

Business News Reporter, Channel 8, 1983-1990

Cotterill provided a Monday business news feature for the CBS affiliate, WISH-TV.

Civic Involvement:

Cotterill has been active in charitable and civic concerns her entire public life. She was a charter member of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council, promoting legislation of small business concerns and testifying before the Indiana General Assembly on many of these issues.

Her work included but was not limited to the following:

• Chairmanship of the first Indianapolis 500 Charity Horse Show

• Two terms on the board of directors of the Nature Conservancy

• Member of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee

• Annual involvement in the PBS Channel 20 telethon and on-air auction

• Completion of a one year course in one-to-one crisis intervention

• Two terms on the board of Park Tudor School

• Habitat for Humanity volunteer

• Charter member of the Small Business Council of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce

• A trained Stephen Minister, working one-on-one with people in crisis

Personal:

Cotterill grew up in northern Illinois. She was a business major at Butler University, Indianapolis, where she met and married her husband, Jim Cotterill. She has two sons, a daughter-in-law, two grand children, and a big extended family for which she occasionally cooks.