Chief Executive Officer
Thomas A. Waltermire
Thomas A. Waltermire is Chief Executive Officer of Team Northeast Ohio (Team NEO), the regional private-sector-led economic development organization. Mr. Waltermire utilizes his skills and experience as a business leader to help the region’s employers grow here and to recruit medium to large companies in Northeast Ohio.
Before joining Team NEO, Mr. Waltermire was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PolyOne Corporation headquartered near Cleveland, Ohio. PolyOne was formed when The Geon Company acquired M.A. Hanna Corporation in September, 2000. Waltermire led PolyOne from its formation until October 2005.
Waltermire joined The BFGoodrich Company in 1974 as a financial analyst, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, summa cum laude, from The Ohio State University and a master of business administration degree with distinction from Harvard University. He held positions as assistant treasurer for corporate finance and assistant controller for planning and analysis. During this period, he implemented ground-breaking project financings enabling BFG’s expansion of its chemical business and led the company’s operating and strategic planning processes.
In 1980 Waltermire joined the BFGoodrich Chemical Group and was named director of raw material and equipment purchasing. He later served as vice president of commercial services with responsibility for finance/control, purchasing, transportation, information systems and marketing services. He served as president of the Elastomers and Latex Division, one of BFG’s specialty chemical businesses, from 1985 to 1989.
In 1989 he returned to the BFGoodrich corporate headquarters, representing the company on Wall Street as vice president of investor relations and assistant to BFGoodrich chairman and CEO John Ong, until BFG spun off its Geon Vinyl division in an initial public offering in 1993.
Tom led The Geon Company’s initial public offering in March 1993, serving as senior vice president and treasurer. Later that year he was named chief financial officer with additional responsibilities for human resources, information technology and corporate communications. During this period, Geon aggressively improved its cost position and implemented industry-leading information technology capabilities.
Waltermire became chief operating officer of Geon in May, 1997, as part of a planned management succession. He then led Geon through a strategic transformation, the first step of which was to create North America’s largest vinyl plastic resin producer by joint venturing Geon’s large-scale plastic resin production and upstream raw material operations with those of Occidental Chemical. This transaction involved an innovative combination of asset exchanges, raw material contracts, venture agreements and cash. Geon also began a series of acquisitions in downstream, value-added plastics compounding. In May, 1999 Waltermire was named Geon’s Chairman and CEO.
Geon acquired MA Hanna in 2000 as part of its transformation strategy, adding capabilities in additional polymer technologies and a global business base. PolyOne was created to be the first truly global business in the polymer services industry with sales of $3 billion and manufacturing operations in over 20 countries. Integrating the 35 acquisitions made by Geon and Hanna prior to the merger, Waltermire created a company-wide identity and culture via common business practices and integrated information systems. Asian operations were expanded aggressively and fully shared in PolyOne’s technology and customer relationships in the US and Europe. Initially (2001-03) PolyOne focused on integration, synergy capture and rationalization of operations. Following this period, the Company returned to a growth agenda based on new technology, marketplace effectiveness, improved customer responsiveness via Lean Principles and increased investment in people training and development. Waltermire resigned from PolyOne in October, 2005, a record earnings year for the company.
Tom was a member of the board of directors of Nucor Corporation from 2003 to 2005. He serves as a member of the Advisory Boards of Early Stage Capital Partners and Delta Plant Technologies.
Tom’s leadership in serving the community is evidenced by his wide range of involvement:
- Founder and Chair of the Ohio Polymer Strategy Council, polymer industry advocacy organization
- Former Board and Executive Committee member of JumpStart, Inc., entrepreneur investor/accelerator
- Former Board and Executive Committee member of The Ohio Business Roundtable and the Greater Cleveland Partnership
- Former Chair of NorTech, the NE Ohio Regional Technology Consortium
- Member of the Governor’s Third Frontier Advisory Board
- Board member and former chair of Business Volunteers Unlimited
- Board member Musical Arts Association (The Cleveland Orchestra)
- Associate of the Presidents’ Council, minority business owners organization
- Board member Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy
- Member The Ohio State University Alumni Advisory Council and former board chair of the Ohio State University world-wide Alumni Association
He and his wife Shirley have three grown children and make their home in Green, Ohio, near Akron.