Stephen James Akard

Stephen Akard is a partner in the Bose McKinney & Evans Site Selection and Economic Incentives Group. Stephen works with businesses on economic development opportunities in the Midwest and across the United States, including evaluating financing options, negotiating workforce and development incentives, creating strategies for site selection, and assessing the impact of reshoring manufacturing. Stephen’s practice includes special emphasis on economic development contract language and compliance.

Prior to joining Bose McKinney & Evans, Stephen served as the director of the Office of Foreign Missions with the rank of ambassador, as well as the U.S. State Department Acting Inspector General. Before these roles, Stephen served as a senior advisor and acting chief of staff in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the U.S. Department of State.

Prior to joining the Department of State, Stephen was the chief of staff for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the state’s lead economic development agency. At the IEDC, Stephen also held the positions of vice president and general counsel, and director of international development. During his 12-year tenure at the IEDC, Stephen was involved in more than 2,200 economic development deals, with a particular focus on contracts and compliance. He also has served as a senior foreign affairs advisor to Indiana Governors Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence and Eric Holcomb.

Stephen was a career foreign service officer with the Department of State, holding positions as a special assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell in the Executive Secretariat; political officer and general services officer at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels, Belgium; and as a consular officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, India.

A native of Indianapolis, Stephen earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and French from Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis. He earned a law degree from the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and an MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Following law school, he was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable James E. Noland, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.