JobsOhio Board of Directors Holds Public Meeting in Columbus

For Immediate Release:
December 12, 2018
NEWS RELEASE

JOBSOHIO BOARD OF DIRECTORS HOLDS PUBLIC MEETING IN COLUMBUS

COLUMBUS – The JobsOhio Board of Directors hosted its quarterly public meeting at JobsOhio’s offices in Columbus. The meeting included a visit from Ohio Governor John R. Kasich and Italian Ambassador to the United States Armando Varricchio as well as updates on JobsOhio’s performance and international business development efforts. 

Year-to-date through November, JobsOhio worked on 222 projects with companies that committed to create 20,447 new jobs and invest $7.8 billion in new capital.

“New capital investments are 50 percent higher than over the same period last year, with the greatest investment coming in the energy and chemicals sector,” said John Minor, JobsOhio president and chief investment officer. “We are also optimistic about our strong project pipeline, which is 6 percent higher than a year ago at this time.” Minor said 20 percent of project wins have been attractions of companies new to the state while 80 percent have been expansions of existing businesses.

Governor Kasich and Ambassador Varricchio said Ohio and Italy have worked to create the jobs of the 21st Century, which has benefitted both economies.

“JobsOhio’s mission is a really big one and an important one – to make sure that we can move Ohio to the next level,” said Kasich. “I am convinced that diversification of our industry is what’s key. The jobs we are attracting are really, really exciting jobs, and you don’t have to go the East Coast or West Coast go get one.”

“I am very pleased to see that the map of Ohio now surrounds the names of the brands of many important Italian companies,” said Varricchio. “These companies have great testimonials of the opportunities they find here. I really like that Italians feel at home not just in my country, but more and more in the great state of Ohio.”

During an international business development update, Andrew Deye, JobsOhio managing director for strategy, business development and research, said Ohio has become the “global heartland” where 49 countries employ 250,000 Ohioans. Internationally, JobsOhio and its partners have completed more than 325 projects with international companies since 2013. 

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JobsOhio is a private nonprofit corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion efforts. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth, Columbus 2020, Dayton Development Coalition, REDI Cincinnati, Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO. Learn more at www.jobsohio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

For more information, contact:
Matt Englehart, JobsOhio
(614) 300-1152
englehart@jobsohio.com