In 2017, Wade Merritt was appointed President of Maine International Trade Center and State Director of International Trade within the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development. In this role, he is responsible for directing the trade and foreign investment efforts for the state, including the delivery of international trade services to Maine’s business and academic community.

Wade has served Maine’s business community at MITC for 29 years, progressing up the organization from frontline staff to regional office director and as Vice President. He led the creation and development of several focused initiatives including the Canada Desk, Defense Industry Maine (DIME), and Invest in Maine for foreign investment attraction. He has organized multiple trade missions to 15 different markets on 4 continents.

Wade currently serves on the board of directors for the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, the Maine Port Authority, the Maine Defense Industry Alliance, and the School of Policy & International Affairs (SPIA) at the University of Maine.

As past president, Wade now serves on the board of directors of SIDO, the national association of state trade offices, and has advocated for greater cooperation between state trade offices, the federal government, and small- and medium-sized businesses nationwide. For this work, he was given the Distinguished Service to the States Award from the Council of State Governments in 2014.

A native of Bangor and graduate of the University of Maine, Wade completed a program on Nonprofit Leadership at Stanford University. He currently resides in South Portland, Maine with his wife and daughter.