Featured Stories

Is it possible to be successful in business and have a meaningful personal life at the same time? It is if you live in Ohio. Our state gets rave reviews from business veterans who said goodbye to long commutes and crowded spaces and never looked back, finding the balance they were seeking in the smaller cities and livable suburbs of Ohio.

Terry Tamburini has one foot in West Virginia and the other in Ohio. He teaches economics and economic development at West Virginia University-Parkersburg while heading the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority, which serves Washington County, Ohio. Tamburini, who took on the Port Authority role in October after working in Ohio for 16 years, describes the region's strong business climate and why it's also a great place to live.

Even the best jobs can lead to burnout and loss of productivity. But some companies are finding ways to keep the creative juices flowing by making it fun to go to work. 

For nearly 30 years, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, or MAGNET, has served as the state's Edison Center charged with providing resources and advocacy for manufacturers in the northeast Ohio region. It's also the designated Edison Center for the state's automotive industry. hiVelocity spoke with Daniel E. Berry, MAGNET's president and CEO, about how manufacturing is faring these days.

David Hunegnaw is one of those elusive "serial entrepreneurs." He's a big idea guy, travels frequently, and seems to have his hands in everything. The Brooklyn native has made Ohio his home for the past 25 years, and during that time launched more than a half-dozen tech-savvy businesses.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Ohio's entrepreneurial landscape? As one of the nation's leading professors in entrepreneurship, Ohio State's S. Michael Camp should know. So, we asked him.

Gift-giving is a big part of the holiday season, and at this time of year stories of goodwill catch our attention. But needs don't disappear with the new year. That's why Ohio entrepreneurs, who've worked to create their own blessings, give back year-round to the communities that have helped them prosper.

What's "smart grid" and what will it mean for me? The question's an increasingly common one as Ohio utilities prepare to test and implement a new generation of technologies designed for more efficient planning, distribution, monitoring and use of electricity. AEP Ohio, which serves 1.5 million customers throughout the state, is implementing smart grid technology among 110,000 customers in central Ohio as part of its gridSMART demonstration project. We asked project director Karen Sloneker, the company's director of customer services and marketing, to help us understand those efforts.