WHO WE ARE :: Management

Corporate Profiles

Fatima L. Weathers, Ed.D.
Interim President , Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice-President

Fatima L. Weathers, a graduate of Notre Dame College, the Weatherhead School of Management and Columbia University, joined MAGNET in April 1993 when the organization was known as the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program, CAMP. She held responsibility for managing projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor and local foundations. As COO, Dr. Weathers was also responsible for MAGNET Client Services' operations and profitability.

In July 2007, after the retirement of CAMP/MAGNET's former President, Stephen Gage, the MAGNET Board of Directors named Dr. Weathers Interim President.

Dr. Weathers has a strong electronics technical background and 25 years of industry experience. Prior to MAGNET she worked at Ohio Nuclear and Picker International in the CAT Scanner divisions and she spent 13 years at 3M Corp. Weathers has consulted locally and nationally with government agencies and private corporations. She currently is an Ohio Edison Center Director and serves on the boards of Notre Dame College and the MacDonald Fund of the Cleveland Foundation.

Jerry A. Gifford
Chief Financial Officer

Jerry Gifford has been an integral part of MAGNET's growth and development for nearly 20 years. He holds a Bachelors degree in accounting from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. After serving two years as an assistant controller with Prototype Development, Inc. in Valley View, Ohio, Gifford joined CAMP (now MAGNET) in 1989 as Accounting Manager. In that position he was integrally involved with government contract negotiation and administration through compliance, proposal preparation and negotiation of sub-contracts.

Gifford was promoted to Corporate Contracting Manager responsible for contract administration for Federal, State and Foundation grants, contracts and agreements. He negotiated terms of Federal awards and audit closures with several different Department of Defense and Department of Commerce agencies.

Gifford also served CAMP as Program Integrator for five Electronic Commerce Resource Centers located in Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio; Fairfax, Virginia; San Antonio and Palestine, Texas. The ECRC Program was a Department of Defense (DoD) initiative to train DoD and civilian personnel to use electronic commerce.

In 2002, Gifford was promoted to Director of Finance and elected as a Corporate Treasurer. In 2005, he became Chief Financial Officer, overseeing all of MAGNET's financial affairs and administration.

Gregory M. Krizman
Senior Director, Marketing

Greg Krizman began his public/media /corporate communications career by serving as Press Secretary to George Voinovich during his first two terms as Mayor of Cleveland (1979-1983).

He moved to Los Angeles in 1983 to work on the 1984 Olympic Games. As Senior Public Information Officer for Security Pacific National Bank, the largest financial services company headquartered in Los Angeles at the time, Krizman helped coordinate Security Pacific’s multi-million dollar sponsorship effort of the 1984 Games.

In 1985 Krizman joined KCET/Los Angeles, the public TV station serving Southern and Central California, as Associate Director of Public Information and Talent Relations. In 1996, The Screen Actors Guild, the world's largest union of performers, hired Krizman as Assistant Director of National Communications. In 2000, SAG named him Acting Director of National Communications.

Upon returning to the Greater Cleveland area in 2002, Krizman joined Cuyahoga Community College as Executive Director of Marketing & Communications. During his tenure, the college won 27 National Council for Marketing and Public Relations awards. In August 2005, Krizman received the College’s District Professional Excellence Award.

In March 2007, Krizman joined MAGNET where he is helping implement the organization's new public relations strategy, reflecting its expanded mission to promote and nurture manufacturing in all of Northern Ohio.