Jacob Block is the CEO and Founder of American Nitrile, a disposable glove manufacturer headquartered here in Columbus. Jacob founded American Nitrile in 2021 in an effort to combat the PPE shortage that hit the U.S. and the world due to the COVID pandemic. With the motto “Bring Manufacturing Back Home,” Jacob and the American Nitrile team hope to create jobs for Columbus while at the same time creating one of the greenest plants in the country. American Nitrile recently raised $105 million in funding from Orion Infrastructure Capital and previously raised $35 million in equity from local investors. Jacob is also a partner at First Avenue Capital and graduated from the Ohio State University in 2015.