JumpStart CEO Ray Leach named to National Venture Capital Association board

Leach is one of six new board members for the organization, which has more than 400 members and pushes for more investment in innovation and entrepreneurship.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ray Leach, chief executive of the JumpStart economic development group, has been elected to a four-year term on the board of the National Venture Capital Association.

Leach is one of six new board members for the association, which represents more than 400 individuals and organizations and pushes for investments in innovation and entrepreneurship. The board includes many leaders of national and international venture capital firms, and Leach is the only current member who hails from and works in the Midwest.

The association announced changes to its board today, during an annual meeting in Boston.

"My hope and expectation is just by being involved with the board and strengthening relationships with the leaders of these funds, we'll be able to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to Northeast Ohio," Leach said in a telephone interview.

Leach's position on a national council focused on innovation and entrepreneurship -- an advisory group assembled by the Commerce Department -- gives him the opportunity to share the needs of start-up businesses and investors on a broader scale, Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, said in a prepared statement.

"Ray also brings insight into the transformation taking place in the Midwest," Heesen added. "Ohio in particular is building an ecosystem of support for its entrepreneurs and in turn has seen an increase in venture capital activity."

JumpStart, a nonprofit group, invests public and private money in nascent companies and provides free services to entrepreneurs and a handful of investment funds in Northeast Ohio.

During the last six months, the group has gained more national prominence as a partner in federal initiatives to boost entrepreneurship and drive economic growth through young, high-growth companies.

That increased attention has come with higher scrutiny, as critics question how JumpStart receives and spends public money and the state evaluates the Third Frontier, a tech-focused economic-development program that is JumpStart's largest individual supporter.