Executive Bios

Ross O. Youngs - CEO & Founder
Prior to founding Univenture in 1988, Ross was Manager of Engineering at a US based CD replication company and from 1980-1986 he worked at RCA Video Disc in Manufacturing Engineering. Ross received an A.S. in Environmental Technology from the Florida Institute of Technology, and studied Industrial Engineering at Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis.

Ross is the inventor of the Safety-sleeve and UniKeep binder and holds a number of patents in the US and around the world. In 1998, the U.S. Small Business Administration honored Ross as their Business Person of the Year. Univenture, Inc. has earned a place in Inc. Magazines Hall of Fame for being on the INC. 500 List of Fastest Growing Companies List for five years.
Awards: US Small Business Admin. Person of the Year

Michele Cole - President
Michele came to Univenture in 1992 with 12 years of experience in the field of Production Quality Process. She contributed to Univenture Production and Quality departments in the early stages of start-up. After four years, Michele accepted the position of VP of Sales and Marketing . After leading the Sales/Marketing team for five years, Michele turned to Operations to further develop and expand production capabilities through process controls. Michele's expertise spans a wide variety of packaging industries such as disc replication, software, government, entertainment, education and many others relating to packaged information media. After 11 years at Univenture, Michele came full circle. Working with each area of the company, she developed the insight for leadership that led to her promotion to President in the fall of 2003. Prior to Univenture, Michele was a senior quality Lab Analyst at W.R. Grace / Cryovac Division of Polystyrene tray production facility in Indianapolis and Quality Assurance Manager RCA Selectivision / Video Disc production facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. Michele also attended classes at Indiana University/Purdue University and is currently attending OSU working on a Science Major.

Larry George - Chief Financial Officer

Larry directs financial and accounting operations for all international and domestic business units as well as human resources and legal departments. His expertise has provided leadership through Univenture's growth as an industry leader in multiple global markets. Larry joined Univenture in 1995 after previous management positions at The Limited, Inc., Corham, Inc., and Texas Instruments, Inc.
Larry has passed the CPA and CMA examinations and earned a B.S. in Accounting from Lehigh University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Jim Geers - Director of Sales

As Director of Sales, Jim Geers is responsible for leading the entire sales force, including sales operations of Univenture's European location in Dublin, Ireland. Jim came to Univenture in 1998 with 11 years experience selling vinyl products and prior experience with industrial products. Jim's knowledge of the industry and his focus on unique, cost effective, and timely, packaging solutions makes him a valuable resource to his customers. Jim received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from BGSU.

Johanna Espinosa - Marketing Director

Johanna manages all Univenture marketing campaigns while also being responsible for the ongoing development and creation of the Univenture corporate identity in a variety of mediums. Prior to joining Univenture, Espinosa was a design consultant for the Nicaraguan Institute for Small and Medium Size Industries and planned international events to promote and market Nicaraguan handcrafts and ceramics. Espinosa has served as Web master for the Center for Latin American Studies at The Ohio State University, illustrated children's books, and received awards for national and international art exhibitions. She has a Masters in Fine Arts from The Ohio State University and a Masters in Art Education from Framingham State College in Boston.

Derek Ailts - Director of Global Operations and Logistics

As Director of Univenture operations and logistics, Derek leads teams in Ohio, Nevada, Ireland and China. In this role, Derek and his team continually seek cost effective methods for procuring, producing and delivering quality packaging products to customers. The operations and logistics teams also work closely with sales, marketing and engineering to ensure the highest value is created for customers with regard to the product itself and the time frame in which that product is delivered.

Derek joined Univenture in January of 2008, after successful tenures in operations, materials management, and sales, at Honeywell (formerly Sensotec, Inc.) and Abbott Laboratories. Derek earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Dallas.

Mike Rader - Director of Information Technology and E-Commerce

Mike joined Univenture in April of 2000 and manages IT and all aspects of online sales for Univenture in Marysville, Ohio; Reno, Nevada; and Dublin, Ireland. He previously worked at Nifco USA (also known as ITW-Nifco) as an Automotive Design Engineer and IT Director. Mike earned his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio University and his MBA from Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.