Our Team

Jay helps businesses discover exciting growth opportunities in the Cleveland Plus region. He works with corporate clients and site consultants and helps them navigate through the regional economic development framework, connecting them with state and local resources and emerging technologies.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Jay was Vice President, Business Development for The Lake West Group LLC, a management consulting firm. Jay also served in a variety of key leadership positions with Procter & Gamble during a lengthy and distinguished career where he was responsible for a variety of business building initiatives that have been emulated throughout the consumer products industry.

Jay has an impressive record of leadership in enabling successful civic advocacy organizations, private and public campaigns, and assessments to support community sustainability. He currently sits on the Board of Trustees for the Three Arches Foundation and is a founder of LakewoodAlive, a local community development corporation. He also serves on the Ohio Aerospace & Aviation Advisory Council. In 2015, Jay was named one of America’s Top 50 Economic Development Professionals by Consultant Connect.

Paul is responsible for developing and executing direct-to-company business attraction for the region’s core industries, including metal fabrication and machinery; polymers, chemicals and coatings; energy, oil & gas; as well as packaging and transportation.

Previously, Paul held senior management roles at A. Schulman, a global thermoplastics compounder serving the packaging, transportation, consumer products, industrial and agricultural markets; Core Molding Technologies, designer/molder of reinforced composite products for the transportation, electronics, industrial, automotive aftermarket and alternative energy markets; Avery Dennison, a manufacturer of high-performance adhesives and consumer products; and Nova Chemicals, a global manufacturer of Styrenics polymers, polyethylene and petrochemicals.

Paul earned a master’s degree in Plastics Engineering from UMASS Lowell and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He also completed advanced studies in Global Marketing and Business Strategy at the Katz Graduate School at the University of Pittsburgh. Paul actively volunteers and mentors entrepreneurs in business strategy/planning at Mercy Corps International, as well as contributing to venture groups through the Akron (OH) ARCHAngels, WPI Business School (MA), and Fusion Pointe, a Naples (FL) West Coast Venture Group.

As the Managing Director of Global Business Development, Mindy is focused on the recruitment of new business investment to Northeast Ohio, with a dedicated focus on international businesses.

McLaughlin joined Team NEO from JobsOhio where she served as Senior Manager, Global Sales Operations. Previously, she served as Director of Scheduling in the Office of the Governor, as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, and as Associate Director at The White House.

McLaughlin is a graduate of Ashland University with a degree in Political Science with minors in Economics and French.

Rick Earles identifies and facilitates product development and commercialization opportunities for regional innovation clusters. In this role, he engages value chain members and assists them in identifying and collaborating with potential partners, capturing funding, creating prototypes and attracting regional talent.

With over 25 years of experience, Rick specializes in technology innovation, technology-based business development and technology-based economic development. He is experienced in organic business growth through new product development, the implementation of strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and the expansion into new market opportunities.

Before joining NorTech, now Team NEO, in 2011, Rick was Executive Director at CANEUS, an international industry trade association that facilitates the development and commercialization of micro and nano technologies for aerospace applications. Previously, he managed the commercialization of harsh environment MEMS/NEMS technologies as Vice President at Glennan Microsystems, a public-private partnership for the research, development and application needs of NASA and industry. He has also worked for businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small start-ups and has provided development services for a number of Small Business Development Centers in Northeast Ohio.

Experienced in micro and nano technology, electronics, electric power, software and fluid power, Rick has authored a number of technical articles, papers and reports. He holds a patent for an active vibration control product for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Rick has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

As the Senior Director of Business Development, Sylvio Mecone supports the core mission of business attraction and expansion by researching and analyzing economic data and trends in Northeast Ohio and competing markets. Sylvio builds Northeast Ohio’s business case for companies and site selectors nationwide. He works closely with the region’s cities, counties, chambers of commerce and economic development organizations to ensure that client needs, confidentiality and timelines are met in an efficient and effective manner.

Sylvio holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and a Master’s of Public Administration from Cleveland State University. Sylvio is also is an alumnus of the Cleveland Bridge Builders program, class of 2014.

Sylvio currently serves on the Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority Citizen’s Advisory Board, the Little Italy Redevelopment Corporation Board, and the Master of Public Administration Advisory Board at Cleveland State University.

As Director of Technology, Neil engages with companies to help them explore growth opportunities with emerging technology adoption that will impact both the informational technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) sides of an organization, from the internet of things to artificial intelligence to blockchain. He helps them understand available opportunities, resources, talent and networks in Northeast Ohio.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Singh was Chief Strategy Officer at Mirari LLC where he worked on mixed/augmented reality solutions and assisted the company in creating a number of strategic relationships. Singh hails from New Zealand where he developed and commercialized research grants for a funding database utilized by colleges and universities. Prior to this, he also worked for a number of creative organizations in software development and IT.

Singh holds a Master of Business & Marketing from Unitec Institute of Technology and The University of Auckland, where his thesis results earned publication in five international journals.

As Director of Business Development, Keri engages with companies to help them explore growth opportunities. Keri enjoys sharing resources with businesses, particularly in the areas of workforce challenges and JobsOhio programs.

Most recently Keri served as Economic Development Manager for the City of Beachwood where she created the city’s first Community Reinvestment Area, developed a partnership with SCORE and the library to host an annual “Starting a business” series, and designed a “Pop Up Park” with the use of NOACA’s Street Supplies program at the city’s vacant fire station, which ultimately led to its redevelopment as a Food Truck Park. She also served the City of Hudson’s Community Development department as Planning Technician, where she issued zoning permits and helped facilitate Architectural and Historic Review Board meetings. 

She holds a Bachelor’s of Science from Gannon University and a Masters of Science from Cleveland State University in Urban Planning, Design & Development. Keri serves on the Business Advisory Committee for The Employment Collaborative of Cuyahoga County and was a member of The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio’s LeadDiversity class of 2021. She resides in Hudson with her husband and three children.   

As Program Manager with the Industry and Innovation Team, Erica works with leadership to develop and execute programs and initiatives to grow the organization’s smart manufacturing cluster efforts.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Erica was Project Manager, Digital and IoT Innovations at Cleveland State University where she assisted in creating and managing a $2M grant-funded budget supporting activities related to digital research and innovation. Erica also developed programming to engage students, staff and faculty with innovative interdisciplinary research such as the IoTC Thought Leadership Series and the Levin Forum/IOTC Brown Bag Series. Erica also served as a Workforce Development Executive for the Lake Erie Council Boy Scouts of America where she oversaw multiple career education programs for middle school and high school students.

Erica holds an Associate of Applied Science from Johnson & Wales University and a Master of Nonprofit Administration and Leadership from Cleveland State University. She is a board member of Jewish Big Brother Big Sister Association of Cleveland and serves as a career education mentor for Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland.

Steve Fritsch collaborates with local partners throughout the region to develop and deploy tools and programming that will build our regional economic development network’s capacity to fill and serve its business development pipeline.

Steve previously served as Director of Marketing & Business Attraction for Team NEO. As part of the Cleveland Plus campaign, Steve managed Team NEO’s outbound business development efforts towards site selection consultants. By acting as a strategic business consultant to companies considering business location investment, he was able understand & analyze decision drivers, shareholder value concerns and asset requirements then create data-driven solutions that mitigate risks, minimize costs and increase bottom line performance. In addition to his roles at Team NEO, Steve has held positions with both large and small companies where he played roles in consulting, strategy, systems, software and project management.

Steve sits on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Economic Development Association. He volunteers his time with Northern Ohio Golf Charities, CollegeNow and the Akron Marathon, and his family attends the United Methodist Church of Kent. Steve graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences. Steve and his family reside in Hudson, Ohio.

Nina Holliday markets the Cleveland Plus region’s collective value to site selectors, real estate consultants and targeted companies to increase awareness of Northeast Ohio’s business assets in order to increase business opportunities for the region. She has more than 15 years of experience in marketing, event planning, and media relations.

Previously, Nina was regional marketing supervisor for Alltel where she managed public relations, events/sponsorships, sports marketing, crisis management, employee communications, community relations and philanthropic giving for a five-state region. Nina was also a senior account executive with Liggett-Stashower, Inc., which at the time was one of the largest communications companies in the Midwest. She worked with clients such as Cole Vision Corp, Forest City Properties and Motorists Insurance.

Nina holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Baldwin-Wallace College. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Substance Abuse Initiative of Greater Cleveland. In addition, she is a marathon runner and member of Women in Sports and Events (WISE) and Friends of the West Side Catholic Center.

Renee leads Team NEO’s engagement strategy to grow and strengthen a more inclusive coordinated regional economic development network. She utilizes her experience as a 24-year business development and sales expert as she collaborates with elected officials, community agencies, municipalities, nonprofits and small to large for-profit organizations. 

Prior to joining Team NEO, Renee was the Regional Director for the Minority Business Assistance Center at the Urban of Greater Cleveland, a program of the Ohio Development Services Agency, where she led a team of professional business advisors in the development of minority, women, disabled, and veteran owned businesses across eight counties in the state of Ohio. Prior to this she served as the Assistant Director of Diversity & Corporate Relations at Case Western Reserve University. 

The cornerstone of Renee’s career started in the financial services industry where she was Vice President, Relationship Manager at JP Morgan Chase Bank.  During her 8-year career with JP Morgan Chase, she managed the financial portfolios for commercial sector nonprofit and municipal clients.   

Her notable and numerous boards of director appointments have included, COMPACT, UNCF of Orlando, and the Citrus Club’s Women’s Executive Exchange.  She is currently a member and class officer for Leadership Cleveland Class of 2020.  

Renee holds a B.A. in Communications from John Carroll University and a M.S in Human Resources Management from Nova Southeastern University. 

Kendra supports Team NEO’s mission of business attraction and expansion through digital marketing efforts including creation and execution of social media content, managing the website, and email marketing.

Kendra moved from Southeast Michigan to Cleveland in 2017. She has more than three years of experience working in marketing roles. Prior to joining Team NEO, Kendra was the Marketing Coordinator for We Can Code IT.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication with a minor in Graphic Design from Oakland University. In addition, Kendra is a founding member of TogetherDigital’s Cleveland Chapter and an AIGA Design member.

As Vice President for Investor Relations, Dawn is focused on leading Team NEO’s relationship-oriented efforts to elevate support from the business community.

Previously she was chief strategy officer at One Advocate Group in San Antonio. Her most recent posts in Northeast Ohio were vice president of Marketing at The Adcom Group and vice president of Business Development, Sales and Marketing at Goldfarb Weber Creative Studios.

She is a past honoree of Crain’s Cleveland Business 40 Under 40 and has earned a variety of awards, including the SME Cleveland Distinguished Marketing & Sales Award and SME-International Akron Distinguished Marketing & Sales Award.

Southard earned an MBA at Western Michigan University and a BBA at Davenport University.