Ohio Business Roundtable

Business Leadership to Build a Better Ohio

 
 
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About Us

Ohio Business Roundtable CEOs are committed to working in a nonpartisan manner with the Governor and other public leaders to build a better Ohio.

Comprised of the CEOs of the state’s largest and most influential businesses, the Ohio Business Roundtable works with Ohio’s governors and legislative leaders in pursuit of policies that improve Ohio’s competitiveness.
 
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Monthly Spotlight

Richard Smucker
The J.M. Smucker Company

Richard K. Smucker is Executive Chairman of The J.M. Smucker Company, an $8 billion food and beverage manufacturer and marketer of iconic North American brands including Smucker's®, Jif®, Folgers®, and Crisco®, and in pet food and pet snacks, Meow Mix®, Milk Bone®, Kibbles ‘n Bits®, 9Lives®, and many more.  Richard began his career at Smucker in 1972.  Prior to his current role, he served as Smucker’s Co-Chief Executive Officer from 1998-2011, and Chief Executive Officer from 2011–2016. 

The J.M. Smucker Company was founded more than a century ago by Mr. Smucker’s great-grandfather, Jerome M. Smucker, and has been honored numerous times on FORTUNE magazine’s annual listing of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, ranking first in 2004. 

 
 
 
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Issues

The issues and policies aggressively pursued by the OBRT are member-driven, deriving directly from the expertise and experience of its CEO members, and move the needle to strengthen Ohio’s economy.

 
 
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News

 
 
Featured
Columbus Dispatch: Ohio’s jobless rate falls to 4.4%, lowest since 2001
Columbus Dispatch: Ohio’s jobless rate falls to 4.4%, lowest since 2001

Ohio’s jobless rate dropped to an 18-year low last month even as the closing of General Motors’ plant in northeastern Ohio took a toll on the state’s manufacturing sector.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4% in March, the lowest since August 2001, according to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services figures released Friday. The rate was 4.6% in February.

The state’s unemployment rate has been below 5% since September 2017 and has hovered around 4.6% for much of the past year. Initial reports actually had shown that the rate in April 2018 was even lower, 4.3%, but that figure was later revised to 4.6%.

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JobsOhio names new board chairman
JobsOhio names new board chairman

JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation, has a new board leader.

Robert Smith, partner and Cleveland market leader for Cerity Partners LLC, has been named chairman of the organization's board. Cerity Partners is a financial services firm.

“I am excited to welcome Robert C. Smith as the new Chairman of the JobsOhio Board of Directors," said J.P. Nauseef, president and chief investment officer for JobsOhio."

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Pat Tiberi's Columbus Dispatch Guest Column: Ohio CEOs see opportunity in changing workplace
Pat Tiberi's Columbus Dispatch Guest Column: Ohio CEOs see opportunity in changing workplace

Shortly after I was named president and CEO of the Ohio Business Roundtable, I asked our CEO members to list their most pressing concerns with Ohio’s economy. While economic development and taxes remain high priorities for Ohio’s business leaders, workforce development is now firmly entrenched as a top-of-mind concern.

Simply put, Ohio’s employers cannot find the workers with the necessary skill sets to fill the jobs of today, and our education system — K-12 and post-secondary — appears to be ill-prepared to equip students with the skills they’ll need for the jobs of tomorrow.

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