“He led the organization with vision, compassion and an unwavering dedication to advancing marketplace trust,” the organization said in a statement. “We extend our deepest sympathies to his family.”
“It was a shock to all of us,” Maha Kashani, the chair of the BBB’s board of directors, told the Dayton Daily News Monday.
“He was my mentor, from a very young age,” she said. She met North at a BBB Torch Awards ceremony, and the relationship grew from there.
“He kind of naturally took me under his wing and became a mentor for me in my 20s,” she said. “He watched me grow in the community and about five years ago, I joined the board at the BBB.”
She said even through recent health challenges, North’s focus remained strong.
“He still had this incredible commitment to ethics and integrity in the business marketplace.”
The BBB said its board appointed Christy Mauch, vice president of operations, will oversee the organization during a transition period.
In 2007, North took the BBB’s helm. He wrote a regular column for the Dayton Daily News, helping readers and consumers navigate everything from pet product sale scams to rising tuition costs to handling customer complaints.
“In general, it’s not about having a complaint, it’s about how you handle those complaints,” North told the newspaper in 2013. “If you don’t answer those complaints, if you’re delayed on those complaints, if it’s a serious complaint … then that’s ultimately going to affect your letter grade.”
Prior to joining the BBB, North was active in the health and human services arena. He secured his first job with a local nonprofit health and human services organization, Unified Health Solutions.
He started his career with the organization as a prevention specialist and was selected to serve as president and CEO in 1998. John grew the agency significantly by securing the necessary financial resources to fulfill its mission, BBB officials said.
Born and raised in Dayton, North graduated from Wright State University with an undergraduate degree in social and industrial communication and a master’s degree in public administration.
He is also remembered for serving as the past chair of the Alliance of Executives and the honorary co-chair of the 2002 Annual Peace Bridge Celebration.
North was also a previous member of the United Way of Greater Dayton Area board of trustees and campaign cabinet and served as a member of the Human Services Levy campaign cabinet.
He served on the board for Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health services.
Most recently, North served on the Solvita executive board. And he is a graduate of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Dayton program.
He also served as a leader in the BBB system nationwide as a member of the BBB’s board operating committee, as well as audit and compliance committee.
The bureau said plans to honor and celebrate North’s life will be shared in the coming days.
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