JobsOhio Board of Directors Hold Public Meeting in Dayton

DAYTON – The JobsOhio Board of Directors held its quarterly public meeting at The Helix – Emerson Innovation Center in Dayton. The meeting included a summary of JobsOhio’s first quarter 2016 performance and financial position, an update on its talent acquisition initiative, and approval of the new Research and Development (R&D) Grant Program.

“In the first quarter of 2016, JobsOhio worked on 56 projects with companies that committed to create 3,507 new jobs and make capital investments totaling $720 million,” said JobsOhio President and Chief Investment Officer John Minor. “Although activity slowed this quarter, our results over the last 12 months exceed the prior period in terms of number of projects, job creation, and jobs retained.”

JobsOhio Board Chairman Jim Boland later announced the Board’s approval of a new JobsOhio Research & Development (R&D) Grant Program. After the announcement, Minor said the program is intended to extend the breadth and strength of Ohio research and development infrastructure, which will help spur innovation and job creation. He said an R&D grant could provide funding for a portion of the costs related to a new R&D center over a five-year period.

JobsOhio Executive Director of Operations Kristi Clouse updated the Board on JobsOhio initiatives, including Talent Acquisition. Clouse said the JobsOhio Talent Acquisition team is now fully staffed at JobsOhio and at all Regional Network Partner locations. She said the goal of JobsOhio and the Regional Network for Talent Acquisition is to be an economic development differentiator for Ohio by meeting the evolving talent needs of businesses in the 21st century economy.

JobsOhio Managing Director for Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace and Aviation Glenn Richardson provided an update on these sectors. Richardson introduced three leading executives in these sectors – Rajan Rajendran, Vice President of Systems Innovation at Emerson Climate Technologies; Vic Bonneau, President of Electrical Power at GE Aviation; and Shane Imwalle, Senior Vice President at Woolpert Inc. Imwalle highlighted Ohio’s key Aaerospace, Aviation, and Aadvanced Mmanufacturing advantages including strengths in outstanding innovation, market access, talent, and corporate leadership within the state.

Rajan Rajendran, Vice President of Systems Innovations and Sustainability at Emerson Climate Technologies, which hosted the meeting, said it is no accident that three of the Advanced Manufacturing company’s five business groups are located in Ohio. “We thought of Canada and several other U.S. states, and we found that the best place for this facility was Dayton.” He called Dayton the “Cradle of Innovation,” citing the chemicals first used for refrigeration and air conditioning were first used in Dayton over a century ago.

The meeting also included an update on regional growth by Dayton Development Coalition Chief Executive Officer Jeff Hoagland. He highlighted the return of jobs to the former NCR facility, significant regional wins since 2012, and the regional economic impact of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

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.

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