Leaders who share our vision for a vibrant regional economy.
Our staff is guided by a highly engaged board of business, economic development, and civic leaders who are committed to advancing the Northeast Ohio Region.
Board Leadership | Board of Directors | Partner Directors | Board Observers | Business Development Council | Industry Advancement Council (IAC) | Marketing Advisory Council | RightSites Council | Talent Development Council
Connect with Team NEO
Don Taylor
Chair
President & CEO: Welty Enterprises
Peter W. Broer
Chair Emeriti
President & CEO: Lumitex, Inc.
Steven M. Auvil
Vice Chair
Managing Partner: Squire Patton Boggs, LLP
Kelly Lamirand
Vice Chair
Cleveland Market President and Commercial Sales Leader: KeyBank
Marc Merklin
Secretary
Shareholder: Roetzel & Andress:
Doug Sibila
Treasurer
President & CEO: Total Distribution, Inc.
Laura Hudak
Assistant Treasurer/Secretary
Vice President, Finance and Administration: Team NEO
Board of Directors
David Allen
Executive Director, Market Team Lead: J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Dr. Marcia Ballinger
President: Lorain County Community College
Christopher Bast
Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Operations Support: The Davey Tree Expert Company
Patrick Bloom
Executive Vice President, Government Relations: Cleveland-Cliffs
Beth Bunton
Chief Executive Officer: Troy Chemical Solutions
Carol Caruso
President: Caruso Public Affairs LLC
Kevin Chambers
Managing Director, Sector Leader for Military / Federal and Logistics & Distribution Accounts: JobsOhio
Alex Chapman
President: Ridge Creek Global, Inc.
Robert “Bob” Davis
President and COO: Aqua Ohio, Inc.
Bill Epling
President: SummaCare
Dr. Ethan Karp
President and CEO: MAGNET
Ben Mathews
Senior Partner: McKinsey & Partners
Ben Meisenzahl
Senior Vice President, Finance: Sherwin-Williams
Marc Merklin
Shareholder: Roetzel & Andress
Matthew Nipper
President: Fifth Third Bank Northern Ohio
Jay Nordholt
Vice President, Corporate Engineering: Swagelok
Nevin Nussbaum
Partner: Cohen & Co Akron
Jennifer Palmieri
EVP, Chief People Officer: Westfield Insurance
Ron Paydo
Market President, Akron/Canton: Huntington Bank
Wendell W. Robinson, Jr.
Vice President, Government Affairs and Economic Development: Rocket Companies
Mark J. Samolczyk
President: Stark Community Foundation
William R. Seelbach
Senior Advisor: The Riverside Company
Aaron J. Swartz
Akron Office Managing Partner: Ernst & Young
Damian Thomas
Market Principal: Office Revolution
Ward J. “Tim” Timken, Jr.
CEO: McKinley Strategies
Partner Directors
Bethia Burke
President: The Fund for Our Economic Future
C. Stephen MacKenzie
President & CEO: Stark Economic Development Board
Dr. Ethan Karp
President and CEO: MAGNET
Steve Millard
President & CEO: Greater Akron Chamber
Baiju Shah
President & CEO: Greater Cleveland Growth Partnership
RightSites Council
The RightSites Council (RSC) is comprised of regional leaders from real estate, construction, development, finance and utilities. The RSC helps to identify and define market gaps, as well as recommend potential solutions for developing both short- and long-term strategies to identify competitive locations and increase Northeast Ohio’s inventory.
Geoff Aiken
Regional Vice President: Desmone
Seth Balkanyi
Manager, Strategic Initiatives & Market Research: Brookfield Properties Development
Christopher Bast
Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Operations Support: The Davey Tree Expert Company
Christopher Bednar
Director of Civil Engineering: Karpinski Engineering
Mike Beegle
Business Sales Director: Verizon
Bethia Burke
President: The Fund for Our Economic Future
Darrell Butler, P.E.,PMP
Principal & General Manager: Burns & McDonnell
Nick Campanella
Regional Director/Building & Construction: Intertek PSI Cleveland
Michael Cantor
Managing Director/Principal: Allegro Real Estate
Tom Charek
President: Welty Building Company
Andrew Coleman
Managing Director: CBRE
Stephen Conway
Department Manager/Principal, Environmental Services: Terracon
Tony Costanzo
Director, External Affairs, Cleveland/Northern Ohio: AT&T
Robert “Bob” Davis
President and COO: Aqua Ohio, Inc.
Chris Demko
Principal/Senior Client Development Manager: Terracon
Tony DiGeronimo
President & Co-Founder: Precision Environmental Co
David Ebersole
Vice President, Development Finance: Greater Cleveland Partnership
Joe Ferenczy
Director of Infrastructure/Principal: Oswald Engineering
Joshua Fragoso
Vice President, Director of Sales, Property & Casualty: Oswald Companies
Melissa Frank
Economic Development Consultant: FirstEnergy Corporation
Bob Fridrich
Senior Vice President: GEIS Construction
Cory Garlick
Vice President, Industry: Rockwell Automation
David Gutheil
Interim President & Chief Executive Officer: Port of Cleveland
Matthew Hammer
Principal/Operations Lead: Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Mitch Harrison
Business Development Manager: Pleasant Valley Construction
Jaime Hart
Business Development Manager, Northeast Ohio: Rudolph Libbe Group
Brendan Heil
Of Counsel: Bricker Graydon
Matt Heisey
Principal: Vocon
Mark Hill
Senior Vice President, Business Development: Premier Development Partners
Matt Hils
Principal: OHM Advisors
Dan Hinkel
Partner: Frantz Ward
Zach Jones
CEO: Janotta and Herner
Sean Joyce
President: inSITE Advisory Group
Kenneth Kalynchuk
Director and Principal: Project Management Consultants
Nico Keels
Business Development Manager: Intertek/PSI
Bill Kern
Director of Real Estate and Acquisitions: DiGeronimo Companies
Catherine Palko Kliorys
Senior Project Manager and Business Development Lead: TRC Companies
Amber Koriath
Regional Growth Manager: Desmone
Wendy Kraft
Economic Development Consultant: Enbridge Gas Ohio
Brian Laubscher
Director of Preconstruction: Shook Construction
Jon-Michael Lemon
Deputy Director of Infrastructure: Osborn Engineering
Vince Libassi
Project Executive: Geis Construction
Stu Lichter
President & Chairman of the Board: Industrial Realty Group
Nick McCullough
Group Leader, Central Ohio Institutional Engineering: The Kleiners Group
Jacqueline Muhammad
Senior Manager of Government & Customer Relations: Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
Marcus Notaro
Associate Attorney: Thompson Hine LLP
Will O’Gorman
Business Development Director: American Structurepoint
Jason Pastor
Vice President, Preconstruction Services: The Albert M. Higley Company
Jason D. Phillips
Senior Vice President & Market Manager: PNC Bank
George Porfok
Principal: Cushman & Wakefield/CRESCO Real Estate
Phil Rudolph Jr.
Vice President of Business Development: Rudolph Libbe Group
Jackie Ruhlin
Director of Member Engagement: Construction Employers Association
Austin Semarjian
Acquisitions and Leasing Associate: Industrial Commercial Properties LLC
Terry Slaybaugh
Managing Director of Infrastructure: JobsOhio
Dave Sobochan, CPA
Tax Partner & Market Leader Real Estate & Construction: Cohen & Company
Ryan Sowers
Commercial Client Executive: The Kleiners Group: Hylant
Robert Stoerkel
Community Discharge Permit Program: NEORSD
Bryce Sylvester
Managing Director: Cushman & Wakefield | CRESCO Real Estate
Dewayne Thomas
Account Manager: Charter Communications
Shannon Thorsen
Director of Business Development: Karpinski Engineering
Brad Whitehead
Managing Director: Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund & Managing Partner: Whitehead Advisory Services
Sandra R. Williams
Director, Government Affairs: Charter Communications
Ryan Wilson
Senior Manager, Economic Development: Amazon
Thomas “Tommy” Young
Director Business Development: North Coast Gas Transmission (NCGT)
Talent Development Council
Team NEO’s Talent Development Council (TDC) provides a forum through which higher education institutions, companies and workforce organizations advance initiatives related to Northeast Ohio’s talent development. The council does this by focusing on four key areas: pipeline, policy, pilots, and performance.
Sunil Ahuja, Ph.D.
President: Lakeland Community College
Dr. Marcia Ballinger
President: Lorain County Community College
Dr. Michael A. Baston
Cuyahoga Community College:
Suzanne B. Bausch, Ph.D.
Vice President, Research & Business Engagement: The University of Akron
Robert Bohrer II, Ph.D.
Interim President: Hiram College
Bethia Burke
President: The Fund for Our Economic Future
Kara Carter
Vice President, Talent Solutions: Greater Cleveland Partnership
Dr. Allia L. Carter
Dean: BGSU Firelands
Carol Caruso
President: Caruso Public Affairs LLC
Kristi Clouse
Executive Director of Operations: JobsOhio
Debbie Connelly
Senior VP, Human Resources: Hyland
Josh Crocker
Senior Vice President, HR Business Partner Director: PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
Dr. Dorey Diab
President: North Central State College
Michael Elliott, Ph.D.
Partner: McKinsey & Co.
Khaz Finley
Assistant Vice President, Outreach & Engagement: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Neal Grode
Executive Director: UnitedHealthCare
Kathryn Heidemann
President and CEO: Cleveland Institute of Art
David Hertz
Chief of Staff: Oberlin College and Conservatory
Gillianne Hetrick
VP, Corporate Administration: Babcock & Wilcox
Jennifer Hurd
Senior Vice President, Local Market Executive, Cleveland and Wisconsin: Bank of America
Dr. Para Jones
President: Stark State College
Janine Kaiser
Director of Cleveland Innovation Project Talent Initiative: The Fund for Economic Future
Dr. Ethan Karp
President and CEO: MAGNET
Lacey Kogelnick
Executive Director, Corporate & Organizational Engagement: Baldwin Wallace University
Shana Marbury
Executive Vice President, Workforce, Community & Economic Development: Cuyahoga Community College
Dr. Andy Michel
Associate Dean and Director of CFAES Wooster Campus Professor, Department of Entomology: Ohio State University
Alan R. Miciak, Ph.D.
President: John Carroll University
Dr. Karen Miller
Provost and Chief Academic Officer: Cuyahoga Community College
Lesley Muscarnero
Vice President, Talent and Org Effectiveness: The Lubrizol Corporation
Chris Nagel
Vice President, Leadership & Learning: Cleveland Clinic
Jennifer Palmieri
EVP, Chief People Officer: Westfield Insurance
Daniel Passerini, Ph.D.
Executive Director of Cross-Enterprise Operations: Walsh University
Anne Richards
President and CEO: Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, Inc.
Wendell W. Robinson, Jr.
Vice President, Government Affairs and Economic Development: Rocket Companies
Jenn O. Ruggles
Assistant Vice President, Government Relations: Case Western Reserve University
Michael Schoop
SVP, Talent: Greater Cleveland Partnership
Peggy Shadduck, Ph.D.
Vice President for Regional Campuses: Kent State University
Kim Shelnick
VP, Talent Acquisition: University Hospitals Health System
Raymond “Ray” Somich
Community and Government Affairs: Synthomer
Rachael E. Sorin
Corporate Learning & Organizational Development Director: Sherwin-Williams
Nigamanth Sridhar, Ph.D.
Provost: Cleveland State University
Mark Trew
Chief Operations Officer: Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, Inc.
Andrea Zadd
Director, Talent Acquisition and HR Services: Swagelok