Team NEO Appoints Utilities Professional to Its Board of Directors

Ella Hochstetler joins organization’s board

The board of directors of Team NEO has appointed Ella Hochstetler, Director of Customer Experience, Dominion Energy, to the organization’s board. She joins a group of Northeast Ohio business leaders dedicated to building a more robust and equitable regional economy.

Hochstetler brings relevant insights with her experience in policies and labor relations for Dominion Energy, as well as her involvement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) customer relations.

“Ella is a great addition to the board. Her experience in the utility arena is important to our work,” said Team NEO CEO Bill Koehler. “Her knowledge will help bolster our efforts to build Northeast Ohio’s inventory of readily available sites and buildings to accelerate business attraction.”

Team NEO Board Chairwoman Dr. Jodi Berg, president and CEO of Vitamix added, “We welcome Ella to the board as she provides a voice with PUCO.”

About Ella Hochstetler

Hochstetler oversees the customer service functions and policies for Ohio and West Virginia, including hiring, employee development, labor relations, credit and billing policies and PUCO customer relations. Her team of 175 interfaces directly with customers, responsible for the revenue and collections activities for the two states, economic development and new customer capital expenditures.

Hochstetler joined the company in 2002 in Customer Credit Services and has held numerous operations, analytical and management positions. In 2007, she was promoted to manager – Planning and Support within the Customer Service Center relocating to Richmond, VA. In 2010, she was named manager – Credit Services Dominion Energy Ohio. She then managed the Land Field Services and New Customer Additions groups within the Engineering Department.

Hochstetler previously worked as an internal auditor at Sherwin Williams and a credit and billing analyst at Goodyear.

She serves on the boards of directors of the Better Business Bureau (Cleveland), Cleveland Arthritis Foundation and the Akron Chamber of Commerce.  She is an annual judge for the BBB Students of Integrity. 

Hochstetler holds a bachelor’s degree with a major in finance and a minor in economics from Baldwin Wallace University and her master’s degree in finance from The University of Akron.

About Team NEO

Team NEO is a private, nonprofit economic development organization accelerating business growth and job creation throughout the 18 counties of Northeast Ohio. As the designated JobsOhio Network Partner, we align and amplify local economic development efforts in Northeast Ohio’s 18-county region; we conduct research and data analysis to inform local conversations and influence solutions; we market Northeast Ohio as a region; and we work to increase access to jobs, education and training for the region’s 4.3 million people.