Hospitality | Entertainment
Chairman
Forest County Potawatomi Community | Crandon
Ned Daniels Jr. is chairman of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, the biggest employer in Forest County and a large employer in Milwaukee County. Today, FCPC employs about 2,700 people, about 1,900 of whom work in Milwaukee County.
As chairman of the FCPC, Daniels works with the five-person executive council to manage the economy of the tribe, govern its administration and handle all agreements with local, state and federal governments.
The tribe owns Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, which attracts about 6 million visitors annually. Opening as a bingo hall in 1991, Potawatomi has expanded significantly over the past three decades, including in 2014 when it added a $150 million hotel. Earlier this year, it announced plans for a $100 million update to the casino’s third floor.
FCPC also owns Potawatomi Business Development Corp., its capital investment and real estate arm based in Milwaukee, and Northern Light Casino and Indian Springs Lodge in Carter, Wisconsin.
Prior to being elected chairman in 2018, Daniels and his wife, Kim, operated several small businesses in Forest County. He also served on the Potawatomi Gaming Commission and as an elected member of the Executive Council for two different terms.
There are roughly 1,400 Forest County Potawatomi tribal members, about a third of whom live on reservation, trust or fee land. Its reservation totals about 12,000 acres.