Victor Voinovich Bio
Victor Voinovich wants to be the first Cuyahoga County Administrator because the job calls for an experienced business person/entrepreneur that knows what it takes to create jobs, attract investment and sell and promote the County.
He started as a CPA in with Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young) and then migrated to Commercial Real Estate Brokerage, most of the time in business for himself. Today, he is Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness in Northeast Ohio as an independent franchisee. The commercial real estate brokerage business taught him the effective use of real estate, negotiation, compromise, and collaboration toward win-win transactions. He has been a partner, founder or sole owner of many entrepreneurial businesses, ranging from retail stores, to a cleaning company, to a consulting company. He has participated or led over 20 non-profit organizations in social services, religious activities, professional activities, and strategic planning. Recovery Resources honored him by naming him a Life Trustee at his retirement from the board.
Voinovich has numerous awards for his work with non-profits and economic development initiatives. He headed the Euclid Avenue Task Force and was the convener for what became the Theater District Development Corporation downtown. He has been involved in several high profile transactions that saved jobs or attracted investment to Cuyahoga County including the M. K. Ferguson deal in the Tower City Complex, the Rockwell International Headquarters campus in Mayfield Heights, the leasing of space in the Halle Building downtown, the sale of IX Center to the City of Cleveland, and his most recent sale of the Randall Park Mall, where nearly 2000 jobs will be created in what was considered a dead mall.
He is 64, one of 6 children, grew up in Cleveland, and now lives in Valley View. He enjoys biking, personal development, gardening, physical fitness, home repairs, business reading, and playing with his grandchildren. The love of his life is Patricia Voinovich, his wife and soul mate for 42 years. He has 4 children who have blessed him with 12 grandchildren.
He graduated from Shaw High School in East Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University where he earned his Bachelor’s and Masters Degrees in Business.