Bill Even was appointed commissioner of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development by Gov. Larry Rhoden in April 2025. (Courtesy of GOED)
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden is appointing a new economic development commissioner and moving the current commissioner into a deputy role.
Joe Fiala, the current commissioner of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, will become the deputy commissioner less than a year after he was appointed to the position. He’ll be replaced in the top job by former state Secretary of Agriculture Bill Even, the Governor’s Office announced Wednesday.
The department is charged with recruiting, retaining and expanding business within South Dakota, including funding business projects in the state and incentivizing out-of-state businesses to relocate.
“Bill Even is the right leader to continue driving our economy forward,” Rhoden said in a news release. He added that he is “grateful for Joe’s continued service” and said Fiala has been “crucial to GOED for years, and he will be an important partner to Bill in the future.”
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Former Gov. Kristi Noem appointed Fiala to the position last year when it had been open for six months, after then-Commissioner Chris Schilken stepped down to serve as deputy commissioner. Schilken is no longer part of GOED leadership, according to the website. Fiala will take the deputy commissioner job vacated by Jesse Fonkert, who was recently named president and CEO of South Dakota Trade.
Even served as South Dakota’s secretary of agriculture from 2007 to 2010. He left to work for DuPont Pioneer before joining the National Pork Board as CEO in 2016.
Before entering the private sector, he also served as deputy secretary of tourism and state development, director of GOED, director of state energy policy, and as a policy adviser for the Mike Rounds administration.
Even has agricultural degrees from South Dakota State University and Lake Area Technical College, as well as a law degree from Drake University.
He lives in Tea with his wife and three children. He’s a co-owner of Even Farms in Humboldt, a fifth-generation crop and livestock operation homesteaded by his great-grandfather in 1884. His ancestors sought out South Dakota for “new opportunities, room to grow and to raise a family,” he said in the news release.
“I believe that pioneering spirit still exists in America and in South Dakota,” Even said. “I look forward to working with people who share that optimistic mindset and vision of making a life and a living in our great state.”
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