News Summary
Directional Aviation has reclaimed the top position in Crain’s 2025 list of Northeast Ohio’s largest privately held companies, reporting a revenue of $5.1 billion for 2024. The company’s growth follows a surge in private air travel demand post-pandemic, reflecting broader economic trends in the region. Great Lakes Cheese and First Brands Group LLC follow as significant players in this year’s ranking, indicating a robust economic landscape for private enterprises in Northeast Ohio.
CLEVELAND – Crain’s recently released its 2025 list of Northeast Ohio’s largest privately held companies, with Directional Aviation reclaiming the top position after several years at No. 2. The company, headquartered at Cuyahoga County Airport, reported a significant revenue of $5.1 billion for 2024, marking a 12% increase from the previous year. Collectively, the 100 companies listed accounted for over $75 billion in total revenue last year.
Directional Aviation’s growth is attributed largely to a series of acquisitions and a surge in demand for private air travel that emerged after the pandemic altered consumer behavior. Following COVID-19, many travelers shifted away from commercial airlines, leading to a notable rise in the corporate and private aviation sector. The company employs over 1,200 personnel locally and approximately 5,000 employees globally, demonstrating its expansive footprint in the aviation market.
The firm is known for its concentrated focus within the corporate and private aviation niche and has a majority stake in nine aviation brands. The largest of these brands is Flexjet, located in Richmond Heights, which specializes in offering fractional ownership and leasing of aircraft.
Great Lakes Cheese, another major player in the region, has fallen to the second position with an estimated revenue of $5 billion in 2024. The company has a significant workforce of around 4,600 employees distributed across nine facilities nationwide. In this year’s rankings, First Brands Group LLC, which operates as an automotive aftermarket supplier, holds the third spot with reported revenue of $3.9 billion. Westfield, a property and casualty insurer, is ranked fourth with $3.8 billion in revenue, seeing a remarkable 17% year-over-year increase.
The Crain’s list ranks companies primarily based on self-reported revenue figures, supplemented by estimates derived from industry data. It offers a comprehensive overview of the largest private businesses operating in the Cleveland area, reflecting broader trends in employee retention and workplace rankings among local employers.
The rankings showcase the economic vitality of Northeast Ohio while highlighting the changing dynamics of corporate growth following the pandemic. The impressive performance of Directional Aviation not only underscores its successful business model but also its pivotal role in the regional economy.
Overall, the list confirms a robust landscape for private enterprises in Northeast Ohio, with notable increases in revenue as companies adapt and respond to market changes and evolving consumer preferences.
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Additional Resources
- Crain’s Cleveland: Largest Privately Held Companies in Northeast Ohio 2025
- Cleveland.com: Northeast Ohio Top Workplaces 2025
- WKYC: Northeast Ohio Companies on the Fortune 500 List 2025
- Axios Cleveland: 28 Ohio Companies in the 2025 Fortune 500 List
- Wikipedia: Cleveland
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CLEVELAND STAFF WRITER The CLEVELAND STAFF WRITER represents the seasoned team at HERECleveland.com, your premier source for actionable local news and information in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and beyond, delivering "news you can use" with in-depth coverage of product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news impacting the region—backed by years of expert reporting and robust community input, including local press releases and business updates, while providing top reporting on high-profile events like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, Cleveland International Film Festival, and holiday parades, alongside key organizations such as the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Great Lakes Science Center, plus leading businesses in manufacturing and healthcare like Sherwin-Williams and University Hospitals, and as part of the broader HERE network including HEREDayton.com, offering comprehensive, credible insights into Ohio's vibrant landscape. HERE Cleveland HERE Dayton
