CenterState CEO Announces New Hires

CenterState CEO announced the executive director of the Greater Syracuse Business Development Corporation (GSBDC) and three recent additions to its organization across the Inclusive Growth; Marketing and Communications; and Strategy, Policy and Planning teams.

Brian Bund is the executive director of the GSBDC. In this role, Bund is the manager of the certified development corporation and provides strategic leadership to achieve GSBDC’s mission and the board’s vision, overseeing all aspects of program marketing, loan production, processing, servicing and liquidation. Bund has strong experience in commercial lending. Before joining the GSBDC, he worked at M&T Bank as a senior commercial credit underwriter and portfolio manager.

CenterState CEO announced a strategic partnership with the GSBDC in April 2025. Under this partnership, the GSBDC’s lending resources can scale to demand and better serve the region’s small businesses. CenterState CEO provides the GSBDC with the staffing and administrative support necessary to manage and expand GSBDC operations and lending resources. Together, CenterState CEO and GSBDC will leverage aligned investments, market opportunities and comprehensive support services, ultimately providing the region’s small business community with a more uniform, expanded and easy-to-access set of small business tools. The GSBDC will operate out of CenterState CEO’s INSPYRE Innovation Hub once it opens later in 2025. Learn more about the partnership between CenterState CEO and the GSBDC.

Lexi Kelly is INSPYRE Innovation Hub’s events manager. Kelly comes to CenterState CEO from Syracuse University’s Alumni Office, where she planned and executed events for university alumni. As INSPYRE’s events manager, Kelly manages events in the soon-to-open entrepreneurial space in downtown Syracuse, the largest of its kind in New York state.

Skylar Richardson serves as CenterState CEO’s impact and evaluation coordinator. Richardson recently graduated from SUNY Oswego with a degree in Psychology, where her work focused on data analysis, program evaluation, and behavioral research. As Impact and Evaluation coordinator, Richardson supports data collection, evaluation and reporting across CenterState CEO’s Inclusive Growth and Strategy, Policy and Planning teams, helping to measure impact, inform program improvements and support reporting to funders and stakeholders.

Danielle Szabo is the director of industry partnerships for construction at CenterState CEO. In her role, Szabo is responsible for managing industry-focused workforce development activities, particularly within the construction industry, helping companies grow while creating career pathways for un- and underemployed Central New Yorkers. Szabo is also co-leading the Syracuse Build initiative and its replication in three counties while overseeing workforce development strategies and employer engagement in advanced manufacturing and other high-tech industries. Szabo has more than 17 years of experience in nonprofit, workforce and economic development sectors with a focus on social justice and economic inclusion. Most recently, she created construction and manufacturing industry partnerships and affiliated programs at Ithaca Area Economic Development.