Former Dayton Development Coalition leader J.P. Nauseef to lead JobsOhio

Former Dayton Development Coalition leader J.P. Nauseef will be the next president of JobsOhio, the non-profit that heads up economic development efforts for the state.

“J.P. Nauseef is the right person to lead JobsOhio,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a written statement. “His extensive experience in the economic development field, and passion for selling Ohio as the best location for new and expanding businesses, will help us take Ohio to the next level.”

“I’m very excited and looking forward to the opportunity,” Nauseef told this newspaper.

Nauseef, of Kettering, is a U.S. Air Force veteran and current chairman of Krush Media Group, which is a data monetization and digital advertising company. Its sister company, Krush Technologies, built and operated applications. Krush Technologies started in 2015 with financial backing from local billionaire Clay Mathile but by August 2017, the company laid off half of its workforce.

Related: Dayton tech firm lays off half its employees, 40 workers

Nauseef earned a bachelor’s in management information systems from University of Dayton and a masters’ in system management from University of Southern California.

Nauseef’s resume includes a six-year stint at the Dayton Development Coalition, including four years as president. The DDC works with JobsOhio on regional projects. He also founded the First Four Local Organizing Committee and Big Hoopla in 2012 to showcase Dayton during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament games.

He replaces JobsOhio President and Chief Investment Officer John Minor, beginning in early March. Minor has led the agency since 2012.

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In 2011, former governor John Kasich and the General Assembly established JobsOhio, a private non-profit organization, to run the state’s economic development efforts.

JobsOhio, which is run by a nine-member board, is exempt from state audits, public records laws and some ethics laws. As a non-profit, it must file annual public reports with the IRS. It is funded through Ohio’s liquor sales.

Related: Board has ties to firms that received help

DeWine’s office did not say how much Nauseef would be paid as head of JobsOhio. Minor was paid $502,203 and was one of 15 employees who made six-figure salaries in 2016, according to the most recently posted IRS 990 form.

From 2013 to 2017, JobsOhio takes credit for completing more than 1,400 projects and attracting nearly 300 new companies to the state.

One of its biggest wins for the state landed in Moraine: Fuyao Glass America.

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