Matt Dolan Talks Economic Development in Geauga
Recently-appointed CEO of Team NEO, Matt Dolan is traversing Northeast Ohio to discuss his vision, which included a stop in Geauga County April 30.
Recently-appointed CEO of Team NEO, Matt Dolan is traversing Northeast Ohio to discuss his vision, which included a stop in Geauga County April 30.
Team NEO — or Northeast Ohio — is an economic development partner with a mission to “bend the curve” or surpass current economic forecasts for the region, according to the organization’s website.
“What we are is the Jobs Ohio partner for Northeast Ohio. Jobs Ohio is the state economic development entity, non-government, not-for-profit, that all the incentives that flow through the state, whether it be grants, loans, credits, flow through us,” Dolan said last Wednesday.
The organization works with economic development partners who help with local incentives, he said, adding, “Together, we put the deals together.”
In Geauga, Team NEO works with Geauga Growth Partnership to “grow Geauga County,” Dolan said.
In 2024, the group completed a project with Troy Chemical and another in 2023 for Ohio Ordinance Works, said Stephen Caviness, a project manager with Team NEO.
There are projects currently underway that he cannot disclose, Dolan added.
Dolan stepped into his role in February, with former CEO Bill Koehler stepping down.
Per an April 25 press release, Dolan served in the Ohio House from 2005-2010 and in the Ohio Senate from 2017-2024, acting as finance committee chair for both at different times.
He is also a former chief assistant prosecutor for Geauga County and assistant attorney general for Ohio, and is currently vice president of 7th Avenue Properties and a partner at Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan.
With Team NEO “completing 892 projects and driving 30-40% of Ohio’s annual economic development outcomes” under Koehler, according to the press release, Dolan has big shoes to fill.
As he settled into the new position, Dolan said he found many people weren’t certain what Team NEO does.
“One of the things I’m concentrating on is making it very clear that we are about the retention, expansion and attraction of jobs, employers and opportunities,” he said.
The issues, opportunities and challenges facing Geauga are not different from the other counties in the region, Dolan said.
“We are working on workforce, to make sure that Geauga companies have the workforce they need,” he said.
There needs to be more connectivity between those who are training and those who are hired, — programs like four-year degrees or vocational schools are great, but if they aren’t connected to businesses, there’s a mismatch, Dolan said.
Some schools in the area are working on certifications so advanced, there are no businesses in the area yet to utilize that talent, GGP President and CEO Kimm Leininger said.
“I think our partnership with Team NEO is really important, not just to GGP, but to the entire community because we need the expertise to help support some of that work in the infrastructure space and leverage some of their partners at the state level,” she said.
When she began five years ago, GGP leaned into Team NEO to see what the county’s greatest areas for growth were, she said, listing plastics, wood, healthcare and agriculture.
“And that’s what we’re seeing, is growth happening in many of those spaces right now,” she said.
Dolan also emphasized he respects how counties operate.
“We don’t come into Geauga County and tell Geauga County how to do their economic development program,” he said. “We respect the zoning the townships and villages want to put in, we work with what we have.”
Leininger helps to identify projects and has better local knowledge around needs, culture and zoning, he said.
Economic development can cause fears of a big Amazon warehouse or manufacturing plant, when that isn’t the case, Leininger said.
“We’re not looking at … taking over all the farmland in the county. It’s really quality of life opportunities to improve quality of life here, bring good jobs to Geauga County,” she said.
Northeast Ohio is an advanced manufacturing area, with a focus on biosciences, life sciences, aerospace and polymer, Dolan said.
“If we gain any reputation in these areas, that’s how you attract folks here,” he said. “We will attract businesses from outside of Ohio to come here.”
Manufacturing is also a very broad term, he said, noting the diversity present in the region.
“Polymers is chemicals and plastics and research and development,” he said as an example. “We still have steel, but we have so many levels of steel.”
