President & CEO
rdebarr@neotec.org
330.672.4080

Ronald (Ron) W. DeBarr was named President and CEO of the Northeast Ohio Trade & Economic Consortium (NEOTEC) in July 2005, after serving as NEOTEC Executive Director since May 2001. In this capacity, he has helped foster regionalism through coordinated economic development efforts for NEOTEC’s member counties, which has expanded from six to nine counties under his leadership.

Mr. DeBarr has helped to facilitate the dramatic growth in recent years of the Foreign-Trade Zone program in Northeast Ohio, for which NEOTEC serves as grantee. Mr. DeBarr was instrumental in establishing a forum for logistics professionals in the region through the formation and administration of the 300-member Northeast Ohio Logistics Network. He also procured grant monies to establish NEOTEC as the host site for a regional International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC), which provides export counseling assistance to area businesses.

Mr. DeBarr is past president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals – Cleveland Roundtable. He also serves on the Business Advisory Board at Walsh University, where he received his B.A. degree in Business Management.

Current professional affiliations include the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ), where he serves as Secretary to the Board of Directors and has received certification as an Accredited Zones Specialist. He was appointed to the Northern Ohio District Export Council by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, and to the Board of the Northeast Ohio International Business Network. He was also inducted into the Phi Beta Delta Society of International Scholars.