JobsOhio Names New Senior Director of Food and Agribusiness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2020
Release

Columbus – JobsOhio today announced the hiring of Tim Derickson, a longtime agribusiness entrepreneur and former state legislator, as its new Senior Director of Food and Agribusiness. In his new role, Derickson will oversee a sector that includes hundreds of companies that cultivate, process, package, distribute and market foods and beverages enjoyed around the world.

“Tim understands Ohio and the incredible impact that the food and agribusiness sector has on our economy,” said Dana Saucier, JobsOhio vice president and head of economic development. “There is incredible opportunity to continue growing food and agribusiness jobs and investment in every corner of the state, and we are fortunate to have a person with Tim’s experience to move these critical efforts forward.”

Derickson comes to JobsOhio from the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), where he worked as the Assistant Director since 2017. He formerly served as ODA’s Interim Director.

“JobsOhio has proven its ability to retain Ohio business as well as attract new investment to Ohio,” said Derickson. “I look forward to developing strategic partnerships to develop more opportunities in the food and agribusiness sector for Ohioans.”

Food and agribusiness annually contributes $124 billion to Ohio’s economy, and food manufacturing contributes nearly $16.4 billion in GSP to Ohio’s economy.

Prior to his time at ODA, Derickson served the communities of Butler County’s 53rd District, from 2009 – 2016 as their state representative, where he led numerous workforce development efforts. This includes supporting the creation and development of JobsOhio in 2011 as a key economic driver for his district and across the state. While in office, he authored HB 89, which established “Ohio Agriculture Week,” an annual week of recognition dedicated to the state’s largest industry.

Derickson will replace Joe Needham who has served as Director since 2017.

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About JobsOhio
JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio though Find Your Ohio. JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Southeast Economic Development, One Columbus, 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