Team NEO Adds to Board

The organization strengthens its presence in the Mahoning Valley.

Team NEO has elected six new board members, all prominent executives in the Northeast Ohio community. More importantly, these new executives expand Team NEO’s presence in the Mahoning Valley while strengthening the organization’s commitment to having a more diverse board with ties to other economic development organizations.

Joining the Team NEO board are: Chris Bast, vice president and treasurer and corporate officer of the Davey Tree Expert Company; Dr. Michael Baston, president of Cuyahoga Community College; Robert Davis, president of Aqua Ohio’s Water and Wastewater Utility at Essential Utilities, Inc.; Jeroen Diderich, senior vice president, general manager, Label and Graphic Materials, North America Avery Denison; James Gasior, senior executive vice president and corporate development officer at Farmers National Bank; and Charles T. George, CEO, Hapco Inc., Strangpresse and Triptech.

“Team NEO is laser-focused on driving better outcomes and building an equitable and vibrant economy. Our newest board members add to our strength and will offer fresh perspectives and new connections within the community to help us achieve our goals,” says Bill Koehler, CEO of Team NEO. “We, and the Northeast Ohio region, are fortunate to have them on our team.”

Koehler offered some insight on the strategy behind adding the new executive to Team NEO’s board, which now stands at 42 members.

“We always look at what new board members can do to support our mission and the conversation is usually about building diversity in the broadest sense of the word,” Koehler says. “There was, first of all, a desire to get stronger representation from business leaders, and that’s why you see people like Chris Bast, Jeroen Diderich and Chuck George.

“But there was also a recognition that the Mahoning Valley is a significant part of our region and we didn’t have a lot of representation on our board. We have enhanced that representation through Bob Davis, Jim Gasior and Chuck George.”

The other strategy that might not be as apparent, says Koehler, is that Team NEO is blessed to have executives that might be involved in one or two other economic development organizations as well.

“That is really important to us because we are trying to build cohesive strategies and alignment of activities,” adds Koehler. “And we like to do it in ways that will allow our partner organizations to be aligned with us.”

Each of the six new board members will support Team NEO’s efforts to build a vibrant regional economy in Northeast Ohio — one that is talented, equitable, innovative, resilient, competitive and prosperous.

Plus, each of the board members brings specific expertise and experience that will help Team NEO advance its four core strategies: addressing the talent supply gap, growing a diverse base of industries, growing the pipeline of competitive sites and engaging and promoting the region.

“These leaders represent a strong and diverse mix of industries from throughout the region,” says Peter W. Broer, president and CEO of Lumitex and Team NEO board chairman. “We look forward to working with them to help build opportunity throughout the region.