Marty Fittante, CEO, Invest UP

Marty Fittante leads InvestUP, the regions’ lead private sector-led regional economic organization.

Since taking the helm of InvestUP, Fittante, with the help of the InvestUP team and Board, has grown the investment base of the organization by over 75%, has established a partnership with Amazon Web Services with a first-in-the-state Industry Internet of Things (IIOT) pilot project for regional manufacturers, was appointed by the MEDC as the fiduciary of $7.2 million in pandemic assistance grants which, in working in partnership with local economic development organizations, were distributed to over 1100 unique businesses throughout the U.P., has engaged in business development and retention work in all 15 Upper Peninsula counties, and has advanced a
data-driven focus for the organization that led the organization to adjust its strategic planning and focus.

Before joining InvestUP, Fittante served on staff in the legislature for 14 years. In addition to serving as Chief of Staff to the 38th Senate District, which spans most of the Upper Peninsula, Fittante also served as a Policy Advisor to the Michigan House of Representatives where, among other responsibilities, he managed three statewide task forces that addressed job creation, education, and agriculture.
Fittante’s legislative works spanned numerous industries and areas, including forestry, mining, transportation and regulatory affairs. His legislative works included helping manage passage of over 100 bills into law, including legislation to regulate non-ferrous metallic mining, which has resulted in the creation of some 400 jobs and over $1 billion in investment in the Upper Peninsula. He also worked on
legislation that led to the Healthy Michigan Forestry Package, a partnership between the forest products industry and the environmental community to provide sustainable, responsible forest harvesting practices

In 2014, Fittante was named as the inaugural recipient of the Jon Farley Michigan Legislative Staff Award, which is given to the legislative staffer who provides extraordinary service and is motivated by a dedication to service and a desire to foster a legislative environment based on merit and results.

An Escanaba native, Fittante and his wife Lisa, live in Iron Mountain, where they own an accounting firm that serves small and medium sized businesses across the Upper Peninsula.

Fittante is a graduate of Bay College, Ferris State University, and Wayne State University Law School. Following graduation from WSU, he spent thirteen years practicing law in the Upper Peninsula, with a focus on criminal defense and domestic relations. That work brought Fittante before Michigan’s trial courts in a number of jurisdictions, Michigan’s Appellate Courts, and once before the Michigan Supreme Court.

A lifelong fan of the Green Bay Packers, Fittante’s other passions include captaining a pontoon boat, stand-up comedy, the latest electronic wizardry, and loving on “Mickey,” a four-year-old Cavalier King Charles. His utopian vision includes one where he can outplay his wife on the golf course, where speed limits are advisory, and where his grandson didn’t affectionately nickname him “Sneaky G.”