LEXINGTON — Matt Dolan said each of the 14 counties Team NEO represents plays a role in Northeast Ohio’s regional success.
While speaking at an economic forum in Lexington on Friday, Dolan, CEO of Team NEO, explained why his team has its sights set on regional success, rather than just individual counties.
“We’re not ever going to put Richland (County) against Stark or Ashland,” Dolan said. “We’re going to create regional success.”
Team NEO is one of seven economic development partners for JobsOhio, each covering a portion of the state’s 88 counties. It covers cities like Cleveland, Mansfield, Ashland, Akron and Medina, among others.
Dolan has recently been on a listening tour across the 14 counties his team represents. He said Richland County has tremendous opportunities for economic development.
“Economic development is like time,” Dolan said. “That ever persistent path forward. You can not look at yesterday, you have to look forward to tomorrow.
“If we’re going to maintain a vibrant (and) growing economy, we have to meet the needs of today and prepare for tomorrow.”
Additional panelists Friday included Ryan Augsburger, CEO of the Ohio Manufacturers Association, Matt Mars, co-owner of Chez Francois, and Dan Fox, director at Kohlberger, Kravis and Roberts.
How can Team NEO help Richland County?
Retaining, expanding and attracting jobs, businesses and opportunities to Team NEO’s 14 counties is the daily goal Dolan said his team works toward.
In 2024, Team NEO helped create more than 3,800 jobs and over $250 million in new payroll. It also sparked over $1 billion in capital investment, Dolan said.
Team NEO works closely with boots-on-the-ground organizations in each county, like the Richland Area Chamber and Economic Development.
There’s also opportunities to work with universities throughout the region to retain members of the workforce in Northeast Ohio.
Dolan said there are 25 universities and community colleges in Team NEO’s 14-county region.
“We have to make sure that those 25 universities and colleges are working with their local employers, are creating internships (and) are creating co-ops necessary for a student to understand that there are opportunities here,” he said.
At the end of April, Dolan sat down with Source Media Properties CEO Jay Allred for an exclusive interview.
During that discussion, Team NEO’s CEO said he hopes that Ohio State Mansfield and North Central State are going to places like the 179th Cyberspace Wing and saying, “What do you need and how soon do you need it?” And then building curriculums around what they learn.
“From what I understand from this visit (to Richland County), those efforts are well underway,” Dolan told Allred in April.