Program Sponsor

The Future of Leadership by Ryan McMahon

County Executive Ryan McMahon is a forward-thinking leader with a clear vision for
Onondaga County. Mr. McMahon is a frequent speaker in Central New York with a focus
on developing innovative policies and programs to address poverty, infrastructure, and
economic development.
With the opportunity of substantial growth in the region in the coming years with the
addition of Micron, it is particularly important to prepare and educate our leaders, as well
as align our workforce development initiatives in Central New York.
This leadership discussion will allow attendees to gain a clear view of the impact of
Micron’s presence, develop insight into what comes next, what Central New York is doing
to prepare, and provide guidance on upskilling to educate residents for open positions.

Ryan McMahon; Onondaga County Executive

County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, II is the 4th County Executive. He assumed office on
November 2nd, 2018.
Ryan started his career in public service as a Syracuse City Councilor in 2005 after being
elected at the age of 25. He was reelected in 2007 for a second term and quickly earned a
reputation as a bi-partisan problem solver.
In 2011, County Executive McMahon was elected to the Onondaga County Legislature and
was subsequently elected Chairman of the County Legislature in 2012 by his fellow
legislators becoming the youngest Chairman in County history. As Chairman, his primary
focus was job creation and ensuring good fiscal discipline in the county. Under his
leadership, property taxes were brought down to historic lows.
Upon becoming County Executive in 2018, Ryan has placed a focus on three main
initiatives: poverty, infrastructure and economic development. A passionate supporter of
small and local businesses, the County Executive firmly believes that the best way out of
poverty is through a job and career. In his first term, County Executive McMahon has also
led the way in securing huge economic successes for our community including JMA Wireless
on the South Side of Syracuse, Amazon in the Town of Clay and most recently, the largest
economic development project in the history of the United States with Micron.

Seven Habits of Leadership; Ten Years Later by Jason Smorol

In 2014, Jason Smorol, General Manager of the Syracuse Mets was invited to participate in
Centerstate CEO’s Seven (7) Habits of Highly Effective Leaders.  Now, ten years later, Jason
looks over his career in leadership and evaluates what has changed, what has stayed the
same, and what is still relevant.

Jason Smorol; General Manager of the Syracuse Mets

Mr. Smorol established a fine career in baseball helping resurrect struggling teams and
tuning them into profitable organizations. He took a turn into the world of construction
and turned a minor territory into one of the largest in his Division. Mr. Smorol returned to
the world of professional baseball to help restructure and rebuild his hometown Syracuse
Chiefs. Mr. Smorol is entering his 11th year at the helm of the team. Under his leadership,
the Chiefs drastically cut the record financial losses incurred in the 2013 season. The
Chiefs created a renewed energy at NBT Bank Stadium and a recommitment to affordable,
family fun in CNY. In 2014 the Chiefs won the International League’s North Division and
made the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. The Chiefs playoff game was the highest
attendance for any playoff game played in AAA in 2014. From 2015 -2017 the Chiefs
continued to lose more games and fall further and further out of first place but continued to
grow attendance and revenues.
Mr. Smorol was part of the team that helped complete the sale to the New York Mets in late
2017. The Mets put their players on the field in 2019 and the team saw the largest increase
of fans of any minor league team in 2019 that did not have a new stadium. Since 2019,
Smorol has led the team through Covid and in 2022, the Syracuse Mets were the #1
Attended Sporting event in CNY.

This program is approved for 2 Professional Development Credits (PDCs)
through SHRM & HRCI 

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