To properly execute the unique mission of Team NEO, a private-sector-led economic development organization for Northeast Ohio, Chief Executive Officer Thomas A. Waltermire knows he must occasionally perform a balancing act or two.

"It takes a certain mentality to be in organizations like this," said Waltermire, who began his executive position in March. "You have to have a blend of being passionate about pushing the curve as fast as possible, but also having the perspective to understand that you're dealing with such a big battleship."

That battleship is attempting to be the central hub and connector for businesses within the communities Team NEO represents, like Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown.

While it was established in 2003 by corporations and chambers of commerce in those areas, Team NEO also serves as a reminder that the region is much more than major urban centers.

Working with everyone from Lake County to Stark County, Waltermire's new leadership has placed emphasis on marketing the region's business and economic strengths nationally to bring in more companies, funds and recognition.

"There are other economic development groups who take a regional interest, but we're the only one that was formed by a coming together of the business organizations around the region to say, 'We want to have a regional focal point for business attraction and expansion activities,'" he said.

As a result of that formation, the staff at Team NEO has taken on the challenge of distinguishing good and bad strategies of making a multi-party effort flourish, Waltermire said.

In order to take on a unified, regional campaign, Waltermire says an important aspect of Team NEO's efforts should be picking up where the individual communities have left off.

"Not surprisingly, there are things that the chambers can't do themselves," he said. "We want to make sure we don't duplicate what they do.

"Each of the chambers needs to be part of a local promotional story, and a regional story will give us more clout," Waltermire said. "It's hard for each community because none of our communities have the resources to run a national campaign."

Waltermire's idea of "smart regionalism," for Northeast Ohio includes:

-- Team NEO as a central entry point to site selectors and businesses interested in the region.

"People looking at investing or building a business in our region really like to have a single point of entry where you can find information about the whole region in terms of land, facilities available, work force capabilities, utility infrastructures and highways," Waltermire said. "Team NEO has to have information and online data tools that people from outside the region can come to, instead of going to a Cleveland site, an Akron site, a Lake County site ... that's very tedious."

With that in mind, Team NEO's Web site includes elements like a commercial real estate search that allows interested parties find properties for lease and sale throughout the region.

--Focus on core industries.

Waltermire says industries like health care, polymers and fuels cells are prevalent in Northeast Ohio and can be used to attract companies in those sectors to possibly relocate or set up shop in the region.

"It doesn't make sense to have a Cuyahoga County strategy and Geauga County strategy on each of those industries," he said. "Our industries don't pay attention to political boundaries."

--Keeping businesses in the region.

If a business needs to relocate, Waltermire says Team NEO has taken on a role as an advocate for them to at least move elsewhere in Northeast Ohio.

The staff at Med-XS Solutions in Mentor knows all about Team NEO's ability to provide directions to area companies regarding a myriad of business-related issues.

Michael Gonzales, marketing manager at Med-XS, credits Team NEO with helping to facilitate discussions between his company, Lakeland Community College and others in the health care/biomedical industry to create a regional health-care industry group, slated to launch early next year.

"We always respect that Team NEO has been very upfront in what they can and cannot do," Gonzales said. "They always do a good job of managing the expectations and providing positive connections."

Since Waltermire became the group's CEO, he hasn't let the qualities of the communities that make up Northeast Ohio go unnoticed.

"Lake County is a vital, core part of our region," he said. "There are several members of the Greater Cleveland Partnership (one of the organizations that helped establish Team NEO) that are in Lake County, so we always maintain that interest."

Waltermire points to the county's industrial base and work force, as well as Lakeland and Laketran, as assets that make the county stand out within Northeast Ohio.

With all of Waltermire and Team NEO's discussion about economic development, some may wonder what's the holdup regarding more tangible results.

"It's more complex than just doing it," said Carin L. Rockind, Team NEO's vice president of marketing and communications. "Team NEO started three years ago and people are committed to moving forward.

"Tom's an exceptional leader and we're blessed to have him, not only as a 13-member organization, but as a region, to have somebody like him who's working on revitalizing our economy."

Waltermire's experience adds up to over 30 years, including an executive stint at PolyOne Corp. in Avon Lake for nearly seven years.

"Some of the things Team NEO started working on at first made sense at first, then we found out that didn't work so well, while other things did," he said. "There's been an evolution, based on the experience of what adds value and what duplicates value."

Waltermire, an Akron native, says he knew Team NEO well before taking the job, as he was part of the group of area business leaders who began to form the organization as early as 2001.

"I wasn't an original board member, but I was actively involved when it was formed," he said. "I was pretty familiar with the concept of bringing together the business attraction and retention activities of the chambers of commerce in the major cities in the region and that's what Team NEO is."