Aim News

Aim Transportation Solutions CIO & VP of IT, John Reed, has been named Youngstown Business Incubator’s Chairman of the Board.

The Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) is more than just a business incubator. For the rebounding Youngstown and surrounding areas, it’s a lifeline. Fueled by extraordinary entrepreneurs, business leaders and technical experts, the YBI helps accelerate emerging businesses by providing an array of invaluable services, facilities, equipment and resource networks, all crucial to the revitalization of Northeast Ohio.

One of those extraordinary individuals is Mr. John Reed.

John first got involved with the YBI in 2014 through Aim’s founder, chairman & CEO, Tom Fleming. Tom knew Barb Ewing, a key individual at the YBI and who’s now the non-profit’s CEO. With the YBI being so heavily involved in supporting software company growth, she had expressed a need for more tech-savvy people on the committee. Tom knew exactly with whom to connect Barb: John.

The reason being, John’s career in the computer industry began around four decades ago when he began working for a small software company writing—as fate would have it—transportation software. There, he created one of the first integrated transportation packages of the time. He would leave the transportation sector for a short stint writing customized accounting software.

Two years later, in 1993, the transportation industry came knocking again, and John landed a job at Aim. Since coming on board, Mr. Reed and his team have unleashed a whirlwind of innovation and envelope-pushing industry trends (such as the way-ahead-of-its-time Electronic Driver Vehicle Condition Report). His forward-thinking technological wizardry plays a major role in Aim’s success and is, of course, why Tom Fleming connected John with Barb Ewing at the YBI.

What sold John was his passion for helping bring back jobs and prospect to the Youngstown area. Not only that, though, the idea of helping people start companies and bring their dreams to life also drew him in.

As previously mentioned, the YBI is more than just a typical business incubator. It’s primarily involved in helping upstart companies and minority-owned businesses. The core of the YBI’s mission is to help people actualize their dreams. It’s one thing to have an idea. It’s quite another to turn that idea into a business. John and all the amazing individuals at the YBI help those dreamers along the process with critical things like market analyses, crafting financial reports, working on projections and coming up with a solid overall business plan.

However, for John, the organization became far more than its mission. He found a kinship among those involved, which, he said, is comprised of likeable, down-to-earth, all-around great people who make it feel like a family environment.

Since joining the YBI’s board nearly 10 years ago, John has been incredibly active in the YBI, participating in numerous committees, such as chairing the Strategic Planning Committee while also participating on the Client Development and Executive Committees.

In his new role as Chairman of the Board, John will:

• Chair all Board and Executive meetings
• Appoint members to committees
• Review and provide direct oversight for CEO, Barb Ewing
• Attend meetings with outside stakeholders as available
• Attend (and speak) at YBI events as available/needed
• Support YBI fundraising and PR as available/appropriate
• Provide vision and leadership

“The YBI has been directly responsible for the renovation of five downtown buildings and adding hundreds of area jobs,” John said. “Its mission is to not only create businesses and jobs but to lift people up and make them the best they can be.”

“Being part of that for the past 8 years has been great and I hope I can not only maintain the momentum but increase it, I’m honored—very honored—that my peers on the board felt that I was up to the task.”

“The YBI was around for decades before me joining and I’m sure it’ll be around long after,” John added. “My goal is to make my time as Chair not only memorable, but I want it to be very impactful and to leave it in a better position than I found it.”