Secretary of Commerce J. Keith Crisco
J. Keith Crisco was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Gov. Bev Perdue in January 2009. He brings 40 years of experience in business and commerce to the position.
For more than 20 years, Crisco served as president and chairman of Asheboro Elastics Corp., a company he formed with partners in 1986. This highly successful company has offices in seven countries, manufacturing facilities in Central America and the United States, and sales around the world. Prior to that, he worked for eight years as the president of Stedman Elastics in Asheboro.
Crisco earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. After graduate school, the Stanly County native worked as assistant to the executive vice president for Burlington Industries. He worked for the company for 10 years, including stints in Chicago and New York City. From 1970-1971 Crisco served as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C., as assistant to the U.S. Secretary for Commerce during the Nixon administration.
Born and raised on a farm near Aquadale, N.C., Crisco has served on the Asheboro City Council, as chairman of the Pfeiffer University board of trustees, as chairman of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research and as chairman of the National Elastic Manufacturer’s Association. He also served as chairman of Globio, a children’s educational Web site based in Portland, Ore., that uses wildlife photos to create a dialogue to connect children around the world.
Crisco also served on Randolph Community College’s board for 16 years and as an active member of the UNC School of Public Health Advisory Council. He has been active with the N.C. Community Foundation, Action for Children North Carolina, and various land trust and environmental organizations. His personal interests include country music, genealogy and baseball.
He and his wife, Jane, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Asheboro and the Town of Oriental in Pamlico County.