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» JUL 20 - AUG 16, 2020

4 Leading Edge 4 NOW

BY THE NUMBERS 5 BIZ COMPASS 6 INNOVATIONS 8 BEHIND THE SCENES 10 PROJECT PITCH IT 12 BIZ POLL GETTING THERE 13 IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

14 Biz News 14 MADE IN MILWAUKEE 16 A IR TRAVEL IS PICKING UP IN MILWAUKEE … AT TIMMERMAN

COVER STORY

20

2020 Mid-Year Economic Forecast

ANANDU VINOD AND JOHN TOWNER - UNSPLASH.COM

BizTimes Milwaukee (ISSN 1095-936X & USPS # 017813) Volume 26, Number 6, July 20, 2020 – August 16, 2020. BizTimes Milwaukee is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January, April, May, July, August and December by BizTimes Media LLC at 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120, USA. Basic annual subscription rate is $96. Single copy price is $3.25. Back issues are $5 each. Periodicals postage paid at Milwaukee, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to BizTimes Milwaukee, 126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120. Entire contents copyright 2020 by BizTimes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Contents

Special Report Coverage includes a look at how area family businesses have reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic, a report on Perlick Corp.’s transition of ownership to the fifth generation and a preview of the Family & Closely Held Business Summit.

WISCONSIN’S BANK FOR® BUSINESS

48 Strategies 48 SALES Liza LeClaire 50 UNEMPLOYMENT Cary Silverstein 52 COACHING Aleta Norris 53 TIP SHEET

56 Biz Connections 56 G LANCE AT YESTERYEAR COMMENTARY 57 NONPROFIT

42 Family Business

PROUD TO BE

18 Real Estate

58 5 MINUTES WITH NADIYAH JOHNSON

With our local decision making, dedicated team of experts, and ability to execute quickly, we can help your business grow like no other bank can.

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Leading Edge

BIZTIMES DAILY – The day’s most significant news → biztimes.com/subscribe

NOW

Evers says he wants I-94 EastWest project to move forward

By Andrew Weiland, staff writer Gov. Tony Evers announced recently that he plans to seek federal government approval to move forward with the stalled I-94 East-West freeway construction project.

The project would rebuild a 3.5-mile stretch of I-94 in Milwaukee between 16th and 70th streets.

That segment of I-94 fits between the downtown Marquette Inter-

change and the Zoo Interchange.

The Marquette Interchange was rebuilt between 2004-‘08 at a cost of $810 million. The Zoo Interchange was rebuilt from 2014-‘18 (although completion of the north leg was delayed to 2022) at a cost of $1.7 billion.

The portion of I-94 between the Marquette and Zoo inter-

BY THE NUMBERS Wisconsin businesses received 85,461 Paycheck Protection Program loans, worth a total of

$

9.88

BILLION, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

4 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

changes was built in the 1960s and carries between 140,000 and 160,000 vehicles a day. State officials have planned the I-94 East-West project for years to upgrade the freeway between the interchanges, but the $1 billion project was halted by Gov. Scott Walker as he and Republican legislators differed on how to address a $1 billion shortfall in the state’s transportation fund.

Several business groups have pushed for the I-94 East-West project saying the freeway is a vital economic corridor for the region.

“MMAC strongly supports this significant upgrade to the EastWest segment of the I-94 corridor,” said Steve Bass, senior vice president of government affairs for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. “This is one of the busiest and most commercially significant stretches of interstate in Wisconsin. By expanding capacity and increasing safety, we will ensure that this vital artery for commerce and tourism remains healthy for generations to come.”

“The East-West corridor project plays an important role in the restart of our regional economy and we are enthusiastic about the re-engagement by the Wisconsin DOT,” said Suzanne Kelley, president and CEO of the Waukesha County Business Alliance.

Evers provided few details about the I-94 East-West project and spokespersons for his office

and the state Department of Transportation could not immediately be reached for comment.

“Investing in our infrastructure is critically important for our economy,” Evers said. “Moving forward on the I-94 East-West corridor project will mean between 6,000 and 10,000 good jobs and will ultimately save lives, reduce travel times, and help businesses across our state. We know that deferring road maintenance could cost us more down the road and put safety at risk, so getting to work on this project is good common sense.”

The design of the I-94 EastWest project has raised concerns about how additional freeway lanes would impact Milwaukee’s Story Hill neighborhood and grave sites at cemeteries near Miller Park.

In his announcement, Evers said that WisDOT would reassess design alternatives for the I-94 East-West project “to confirm the preferred option for the segment that would increase safety and improve travel times while preserving local historic grave sites and maintaining the current number of interchanges. In addition to sparing the historic grave sites in the Story Hill neighborhood and maintaining the current number and location of interchanges, the preferred option will not incorporate the ‘double-decker’ design that drew community opposition when the project was last studied in 2015.” n

BIZ COMPASS

What have you learned A B O U T B USINESS LEA DER SHIP

FROM THE CHALLENGES OF 2020?

LIU

1 JASON CEO, Zywave

“Undoubtedly, in any crisis, strong business leadership is required to help navigate through turbulent times. The recent events are different from the past, however, in that we now have a health crisis and a cultural crisis. For any executive, our ability to instill empathy, while addressing both personal and professional aspects of the issue, is essential. Our leadership is being tested and we need to raise our level of awareness and focus in these areas.”

CHERTOS

2 CARLY

Co-owner, Vibe Health and Fitness (Right, pictured with coworker Samantha Link

1 3

“During uncertain times, it’s important to acknowledge the various emotions of clients and employees. To listen, to hear their needs and to move forward together from that place.

Not only do we need to communicate a clear and concise action plan, but we as business owners need to listen from a more supportive role.”

3 TERRY ROWINSKI

CEO, Health Payment Systems

“During and after a crisis, leaders must operate not just from a place of sympathy, or even empathy, but with compassion. It’s not enough to recognize what others are experiencing, but to actively practice compassion by going out of your way to help others emotionally, mentally and physically.”

2

4 DR. ANDREW SETER President and CEO, Sensia

5

“Sensia serves the health care needs of employers and employees. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught me the need to be as responsive as possible to an ever-changing landscape.

Along with developing and implementing new services, our staff routinely researches the medical information and resources available in the community and shares with our clients.”

5 CHAD RITTERBUSCH President,TRG Marketing

4

“This time has been extraordinary in that we’re navigating a deep economic crisis while trying to care for the health and wellbeing of others. I quickly learned the challenge was too big for me to tackle alone. I’ve been fortunate to work with our staff to chart a course that is best for us and our many clients.” n biztimes.com / 5

Leading Edge

INN VasoGnosis software uses AI to help treat brain aneurysms

By Brandon Anderegg, staff writer

The Lubar Entrepreneurship Center helped Ali Bakhshinejad create his own business, VasoGnosis, while he was pursuing his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering at UWM.

VasoGnosis Inc. Milwaukee

INNOVATION: Diagnostic and surgical planning software FOUNDER: Ali Bakhshinejad FOUNDED: 2019 vasognosis.com 6 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

VAT I MILWAUKEE-BASED medical tech startup VasosGnosis Inc. is developing surgical planning and diagnostic software that can be thought of as the Google Maps of vascular surgery.

Using the startup’s software, doctors can rely on artificial intelligence-powered algorithms to help detect, diagnose and select treatment options for patients suffering from cerebrovascular diseases.

VasoGnosis is first applying its software to the process of treating brain aneurysms, a condition that can quickly become life-threatening, requiring immediate medical attention if they begin to leak or rupture. More than 152 million people worldwide suffer from brain aneurysms, and they cause nearly 500,000 deaths annually, according to Brain Aneurysm Foundation research.

Although endovascular surgery has been used to treat brain aneurysms for more than a decade, aneurysm detection and the surgical procedure can be inefficient, said Ali Bakhshinejad, VasoGnosis president and chief executive officer.

As a post-doctoral research scientist at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Bakhshinejad observed several endovascular surgeries for brain aneurysms. After having conversations with radiologists and surgeons, Bakhshinejad realized the potential of applying AI as a predictive surgical tool. Without AI, diagnosis and selection of surgical devices is a manual and subjective process based on a surgeon or radiologist’s experience.

Not only is the process time-consuming, but one out of four

NS

A 3D rendering of brain vessels calculated and rendered

by VasoGnosis’ VG Recon in under four minutes.

surgeries results in an unsuccessful outcome, which can lead to more than $65,000 in additional charge for the patient less than a year after their first operation, according to VasoGnosis.

The U.S. Drug and Food Administration has cleared more than 30 medical implant devices to treat brain aneurysms. Surgeons can often identify the right kind of device for a patient, but selecting the right size based on a patient’s anatomy can be challenging, Bakhshinejad said.

Some surgeons may try up to four different implants before finding the correct fit for the patient. It is also possible a surgeon selects the wrong device, which can lead to health complications or another surgery down the road.

“These are highly skilled surgeons that are performing this operation, and yet there’s a lot of guess work in the process,” Bakhshinejad said. “There is no way for the surgeon to know which device is going to fit before going to the operation room. That’s why you see a lot of complication in this process.”

VasosGnosis’ artificial intelligence algorithms are trained to find the aneurysm, conduct 3D measurements, and compare with previous scans. The startup’s de-

tection engine can perform a risk assessment based on a patient’s health profile and the location of the aneurysm in the brain. A process that previously took between one hour and four days can be completed in a matter of five minutes.

Using VasoGnosis’ surgical planning software, a surgeon can simulate different surgical options and compare the outcomes before operating on a patient. Rather than basing surgical options on the limited available devices at a hospital, the software provides options with all FDA-approved surgical devices in mind.

VasoGnosis now has agreements in place for validation and a pilot program with UMass Memorial Health Care in Massachusetts as well as with the Medical College of Wisconsin. The startup was also recently selected for Nvidia’s inception program, which is an accelerator for promising deep learning startups.

VasoGnosis is raising a preseed round and has raised nearly $68,000 towards a valuation of $4 million. The company also recently applied for a federal Small Business Technology Transfer grant in collaboration with MCW for the development and validation of its software. n

The Milwaukee Region and its business community have faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. As we emerge from the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, and move into recovery and a “new normal,� what gives us hope for the future?

We want to take time to recognize companies that have shined to show during the most difficult of times.

TELL US YOUR STORY -OR- ABOUT A COMPANY THAT INSPIRED YOU. Awards will be given in the following categories:

Creating New Links in the Chain

Mother (or father) of Invention

Have you retooled your supply chain or become a link in another supply chain to meet new market demands?

Necessity and changing circumstances can spark new ideas. Has your organization invented a new product or service to meet rapidly changing demands?

Fueling the Frontlines Has your company come to the aid of health care or other front-line workers when they need it most?

True Colors

Pivot not Panic

In times of crisis, great companies their culture shine through. Have you maintained an employee-centric focus as you manage the health and wellbeing of your workforce?

When the dust clears, those who lead with clarity and purpose will emerge stronger.

Do you know someone who has shown exemplary leadership during the pandemic?

Our winners will be celebrated in a virtual event and a special edition of BizTimes Media.

Presenting sponsor

Apply at www.mmac.org/focus.html Deadline: Friday, July 31, 2020

Gold sponsors:

Media sponsor:

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a n d

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Leading Edge

1

BEHIND THE SCENES

JAKE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY

BEHIND THE SCENES Making cheeseheads at Foamation

By Maredithe Meyer, staff writer

O

n a good day, Foamation Inc.’s Original Cheesehead Factory can produce about 150 of its iconic cheesehead hats.

But with only three production stations operating at one time and a catalog of nearly 90 foam products, production of its best-selling item all depends on what’s going on that day at the company’s facility in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood.

Summer’s peak tour season has brought as many as 100 people through the factory in the span of two hours. One tour allows visitors to take over the production line and make their own cheesehead creation.

“We know that during tour season, we’re not going to get a lot of production done so what (workers do in advance) is stockpiling,” said co-owner Mei-Lynn Nelson.

Foamation saw sales drop 99% for two months because of the COVID-19 outbreak, temporarily shutting down production, tours and its retail store. The factory reopened to the public in late May, with new health and safety protocols. n 8 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

2

3

4

5

7

6 1

The production line is set up so tours can get a behind-the-scenes look. Due to COVID-19, visitors are required to wear a mask inside the space and workers use every other station.

2

Monitors have been installed outside the production area so tours can get an overhead view while keeping a safe distance.

3

Production worker Mark Rentmaster pours a proprietary polyurethane mixture into a miniature cheesehead mold complete with spots for holes.

4

Once poured, it takes about five minutes for the mini cheesehead to harden inside its mold, after a car jack is used to apply 1,500 pounds of pressure to the outside.

8 5

Production worker Sam Hildebrandt trims around the finished product to remove excess foam.

6

Foamation in 2016 moved from St. Francis to its current 15,920-square-foot, 116-year-old factory building at 1120 S. Barclay St. in Milwaukee.

It recently completed work on a new 7,800-square-foot event space inside the facility.

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7

Foamation’s scraps are recycled and used by a Madison-based manufacturer to make floor mats.

8

Ralph Bruno, owner of Foamation and mastermind behind the foam cheesehead hat, created the first of its kind in 1987 from a piece of couch foam.

We are proud to serve you as the only family and locally owned business media company in southeastern Wisconsin.

Contact Linda Crawford at linda.crawford@biztimes.com CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

Leading Edge

PROJECT PITCH IT M

NOVOMOTO LEADERSHIP: Aaron Olson and Mehrdad Arjmand A D D R E S S: 824 E. Washington Ave., Madison WEBSITE: NovoMoto.net W H AT I T D O E S: Brings clean electricity to remote parts of the world F O U N D E D: 2017

NovoMoto deploys solar-powered TV kits in Congo

By Brandon Anderegg, staff writer

adison-based clean electricity startup NovoMoto is launching new products, fundraising and hiring more staff after being featured this year on the fourth season of WISN-TV Channel 12’s “Project Pitch It.” While on the show, company founders Aaron Olson and Mehrdad Arjmand pitched their Aaron Olson and Mehrdad Arjmand visited a house in Kinshasa to install a NovoMoto solar portable solar-powered power kit. electrical kit solution, which provides lighting and phone charging to including a recent raise of $350,000 in a $1 people in remote parts of the world. million seed round of funding. NovoMoto plans The show’s panel of Milwaukee-area moguls to hire more independent agents, customer awarded Olson and Arjmand with $10,000. The service representatives and technicians to help entrepreneurs have since traveled to the Demexpand and support its customer base. ocratic Republic of Congo where they recently “The purpose of this funding is to get us to deployed the company’s new solar-powered a few thousand customers in early 2021,” Olson TV kits. said. “How quickly we can act on that depends “That’s a big piece of what we’ve been on how quickly our partners, primarily in China, working on,” Olson said. “This new package can help with manufacturing, shipping and that we’ve been offering in the first half of 2020 customs clearance.” is our first major launch of the TV solution.”

The lack of electricity access in sub-Saharan NovoMoto had a batch of 250 TV systems, Africa presents an opportunity for NovoMoto in most of which have already been purchased places like Congo, Olson said. and installed in homes in Congo, Olson said.

NovoMoto eventually wants to expand These new systems power five hours of TV daily beyond Congo to serve other markets with and include additional security features. the goal of completing 1 million installations Since launching in 2017, NovoMoto has by 2026. served 895 people. The company said it has “There are other countries that unfortunateprovided customer savings of $16,000 and has ly have a similar lack of access to electricity,” added 270,000 hours of productivity to peoOlson said. “We’re looking at other markets, ple’s lives with its sustainable lighting. but we’re not ready to make that jump until we The company has raised $700,000 to date, have a little more traction in Congo.” n

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JOIN THIS YEARS EXHIBITORS: 360 Direct, Inc. 88Nine Radio Milwaukee Balestrieri Environmental & Development Inc. BizTimes Media BT 360 Butters-Fetting Co., Inc. Carefree Boat Club of Wisconsin Central Office Systems Centurylink Citizens Bank Dash Development Group Employee Health Centre, LLC Epic Color Group EWH University for Small Business Exacta Corporation First Federal Bank of Wisconsin FitTech Hosting Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Wisconsin Greater Brookfield Chamber of Commerce Green Bay Packers Greenfire Management Services, LLC HarmonyWorks Highlights Media LLC

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iHeart Media/1130 WISN Imperial Service Systems Innovative Signs J.H. Findorff & Son Inc. Lamar Outdoor Advertising Lauber Business Partners Majic Productions MalamaDoe - A Coworking Community for Women Marquette University High School Martinizing Dry Cleaners & Commercial Cleaners Midwest College of Oriental Medicine Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee Metropolitan Assoc. of Commerce (MMAC) Milwaukee Screen & Stitch (OHM Holdings) Minuteman Press NARI Milwaukee Neher Electric Supply, Inc. Ogden & Company, Inc. Olive Promotions Ollenburg LLC Promotion Pros Renewal by Andersen Ryan Kromholz & Manion, S.C.

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Saturn Lounge Saz’s Hospitality Group SC Aviation Spectrum Enterprise Stamm Business Technologies Summit Credit Union SVA Certified Public Accountants S.C. The Delafield Hotel The Payroll Company Town of Brookfield Tourism Division Transistor Trinergy Health LLC U.S. Cellular Upper Iowa University Vistage Waukesha County Business Alliance (WCBA) Waukesha State Bank Wegner CPA’s Wintrust Wisconsin Institute of CPAs (WICPA) Women Business Owners Network (WBON)

Grow your business

Leading Edge BIZ POLL

GETTING

A recent survey of BizTimes.com readers.

Should people be required to wear face masks in public spaces to prevent the spread of COVID-19?

YES:

56%

NO:

44%

THERE

What exactly is a chef concierge?

“It’s the head concierge of a high-end or boutique hotel or resort.

Internally, we help hire and train new concierges and manage our team to meet the standards of the hotel. Our main duties focus on the needs and desires of each guest. We provide guests with connections to the city so they can enjoy a personalized experience of Milwaukee.”

Has COVID-19 impacted your role?

“My role is even more important now. Concierges are the main point of contact for guests. We offer them comfort as well as knowledge, and we know where to go for anything: the nearest doctor, where to get medicine, restaurants that are open to the public, events that are still happening. I want to reassure guests they can feel safe and protected, and make sure their travel needs are met.”

Share your opinion! Visit biztimes.com/bizpoll to cast your vote in the next Biz Poll.

Something you learned while working in NYC? “There is no request too great or too small. Expectations are high and the pace is fast, but it’s the same in Milwaukee. Every guest’s needs are just as important as the next. I want each guest to feel like they are home.”

What brought you back to Wisconsin?

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!

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“My husband is originally from Brooklyn, but we wanted to raise our kids outside New York City. We both love Wisconsin, especially the vibe of Milwaukee. We wanted space to raise our family, which the Midwest provides, but we also wanted to live near an energetic city, so Milwaukee was perfect.” n

BRIANA DAVIS-GREER Chef concierge The Pfister Hotel AGE: 39

Sponsored locally by

HOMETOWN: Born in Elgin, Illinois; raised in Neenah EDUCATION: Associate degree from the Musical Theater Conservatory program at American Musical and Dramatic Academy

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PREVIOUS POSITION: Chef concierge at New York City’s 1 Hotel Central Park and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Riley Construction | Swick Technologies, LLC | Town Bank | UnitedHealthcare | Walker & Dunlop © Copyright 2020 American Heart Association, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. All rights reserved. Go Red for Women is a registered trademark of AHA. The Red Dress Design is a trademark of U.S. DHHS. Unauthorized use prohibited.

12 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020 2020_MKE_GRFW_BizTimes_Ad_3.875X4.875.indd 1

6/29/2020 2:44:00 PM

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD What do you like about your office location?

Brion Collins, managing director: “Delafield is a beautiful community. … There are cute restaurants that we enjoy and our customers enjoy. For those who are into arts and crafts and antiques, we have plenty of knickknack shops. There’s a coffee shop and bakery down the street. It’s a nice little place.”

WEALTHSPIRE ADVISORS 709B Milwaukee St., Delafield NEIGHBORHOOD: Downtown Delafield FOUNDED: 1995 EMPLOYEES: 9 SERVICE: Wealth management

Who are your customers?

“We provide fully integrated wealth management services and that is primarily

for people who have done fairly well. A lot of our customers run businesses, are executives or retirees who are looking for financial planning and investment management for their investment portfolio.”

How has business changed with COVID-19?

“Because we’re in a personal business, most of our interactions are face-to-face.

We like to think we have an intimate culture in the sense that we love eyeball to eyeball (communication). That dynamic has changed. … A byprod-

uct of this is people have become more comfortable with managing relationships over distance. I was a late adopter of Zoom, but now I love it.”

Have you seen growth in your business?

“We believe this is a customer-centric business and we need people who have an affection for others and have a solid technical background.

We’ve recently added a few team members because our business is growing substantially. For the past five years, we’ve grown about 25% a year.” n

BANKING BEYOND EXPECTATIONS For my clients, having a financial concierge means I’m a partner on their financial journey, keeping my eyes on their goals as they realize their dreams. Sometimes I coordinate their banking or structure financing, and sometimes I collaborate with other experts on our team. Convenient.

Easy. Trustworthy. They tell me that I help them achieve more than they have in years. I tell them — it’s what we do here.

AMY SCHNEIDER, NMLS#780006

VICE PRESIDENT - PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, FIRST BUSINESS BANK

BUSINESS BANKING | PRIVATE WEALTH | SPECIALTY FINANCE

firstbusiness.com/mke Member FDIC

biztimes.com / 13

BizNews

Acquisition of Taylor Dynamometer could help fuel Power Test’s growth ACQUISITIONS have been part of the strategic growth plan for Sussex-based Power Test Inc. since 2014. This year, the powertrain testing manufacturer is putting those plans into practice.

In March, Power Test acquired New Hampshire-based DYNOmite Dynamometer and then in late June acquired Milwaukee-based Taylor Dynamometer.

Rick Ruzga, president of Power Test, acknowledged some might question why the company would do two deals in a three-month period, especially in a slow economy.

“We wouldn’t do it any other way,” he said. “We have to grow.”

Ruzga said “grow or die” is one of Power Test’s core values, giving the company a clear goal to aim for. But the challenge is that organic growth is limited by growth of the industry, which generally tracks with the broader economy.

Power Test brought a record backlog into 2020, which has helped the company navigate the coronavirus-induced slowdown across many of its markets.

“We’re still watching it. I would say the rebound is a little tepid right now,” Ruzga said.

Prior to the onset of the pandemic, Power Test was seeing a lot of its revenue come from its engineered solutions business, which includes large, often one-off projects for customers. The company was also branching out into new markets, working with a large aerospace customer on testing for electric jet propulsion engines.

Power Test also saw its head14 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

count grow last year, even in a tight labor market. Ruzga said the company had to get creative in bringing on staff, including a program for high school and pre-college students to help with staging orders and packing parts and another with retirees working limited hours.

“That was really a win for the organization because a lot of these people brought broad experience and were actually able to train and mentor some of our younger employees,” Ruzga said.

Many of the industry’s customers, who range from large equipment manufacturers to the military to service providers to car racers, are loyal to particular brands.

Ruzga compared the relationship between Taylor and Power Test to Ford and Chevrolet with customers unlikely to switch brands simply by offering a low price.

Those dynamics may lend themselves to acquisitions as part of a growth strategy, but acquiring the company and making the most of it are two separate things.

Ruzga said strategic planning has already started to combine the best from Taylor and Power Test.

The plans call for Taylor to continue operating from its facility in the Menomonee Valley with Jeff Brown, vice president of sales and service, and Larry Golding, vice president of engineering, leading the operation and reporting to Ruzga.

Taylor and Power Test generally use two different operating models, Ruzga said. The former relied more on outside vendors to make

Taylor Dynamometer’s facility in the Menomonee Valley. Power Test acquired the company in late June and plans to continue operating the facility.

POWER TEST INC.

N60 W22700 Silver Spring Drive, Sussex 3602 W. Wheelhouse Road, Milwaukee INDUSTRY: Dynamometers and engine testing equipment EMPLOYEES: Around 180

powertestdyno.com

components and then assembled them to make a finished product.

Power Test, on the other hand, is more vertically integrated, bringing in raw materials and making components internally.

“What’s exciting to me is you’ve got different approaches that you can kind of take the best of the best,” Ruzga said.

He imagined the possibility of a machining center of excellence that could produce components for all of Power Test’s companies.

Alternatively, if the company needs to add external capacity, it could tap into suppliers Taylor worked with previously.

“The companies have all been successful for many, many decades and so whatever the business model is that made them successful, you have to really analyze and understand before you start making lots of changes,” Ruzga said.

He said bringing key leaders together from the businesses to develop a plan for the integration is an important part of moving forward together.

“I’ve been in situations where a company’s acquired and without really knowing the business, decisions get made and you kill off the business instead of grow it,” Ruzga

added.

Given the loyal customers of the companies, the goal will be to take the best from each. Beyond manufacturing some new products, Ruzga said he’s particularly excited about the opportunity to draw on the software and control capabilities of both to offer customers new capabilities. He also highlighted the potential for IoT offerings in which remote sensors allow company technicians to identify potential problems and address them before a part fails.

“That’s where I see us having some really, really excellent progress in the very near term,” he said. n

ARTHUR THOMAS Associate Editor

P / 414-336-7123 E / arthur.thomas@biztimes.com T / @arthur8823

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Popular stand-alone telemedicine vendors include Teladoc, Doctor on Demand, and MDLIVE. These can be convenient and affordable, but do not allow you to see your regular doctor and may not be considered in-network by your insurance plan.

Insurers like Anthem and UnitedHealthcare offer their members access to similar services that provide the added advantage of knowing that the visit will be in-network for their plan.

Additionally, nearly all major health systems in the greater Milwaukee area offer their own telemedicine solutions, which may allow you to see your actual doctor. The following overview of these services are based on the information available on each system’s website as of the time of this writing.

Advocate Aurora Health offers two types of virtual visits. Quick Care Video Visits are available 24/7 for minor health concerns and are staffed by a pool of providers, like an urgent care facility. Quick Care Video Visits cost $49 and cannot be billed to insurance. Existing Advocate Aurora patients can also request to schedule a video visit with their primary care provider or specialist that will be conducted via Zoom and will be billed to insurance the same as an in-person visit.

Children’s Wisconsin offers Children’s Online Urgent Care that allows you to video chat with a doctor 24/7 for children ages 0-17 regarding minor illnesses and injuries. If your child is a current patient of Children’s Wisconsin, notes from the visit will be documented and made accessible to their regular provider. Visits typically cost $49 but have been reduced to $20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin offer a telemedicine service called Virtual Clinic. From 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. you can request a virtual visit with no appointment needed for an assortment of minor illnesses. Visits cost $49 and cannot be billed to insurance.

ProHealth Care offers virtual urgent care visits to individuals located in Wisconsin ages 6 and older. ProHealth’s virtual urgent care is available for simple medical problems, including COVID-19 screening and advice. The visits cost $45 and can be billed to a health insurance plan.

Rogers Behavioral Health is offering telehealth treatment options for children, adolescents, and adults. Rogers Connect Care offers the same treatment for mental health conditions that would be delivered in-person as Partial Hospitalization Programming and Intensive Outpatient Programming. Rodgers’ admissions coordinators work with patients to determine costs and insurance coverage for virtual therapy.

Telemedicine won’t replace the relationship with your physician and is not appropriate in all situations. If you’re experiencing a medical emergency you should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

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BizNews FEATURE

Spring City Aviation has seen an increase in business and personal travel by charter plane over the past two months.

Air travel is picking up in Milwaukee … at Timmerman Arthur Thomas, staff writer JUST LIKE MILWAUKEE Mitchell International Airport, Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport on the city’s far northwest side saw air traffic plummet when the coronavirus pandemic hit Wisconsin.

In April, the total number of operations at the airport dropped to 823, a nearly 54% decline from 2019.

In March, the number of flights was down almost 25% to 2,026.

16 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

Mitchell saw a 18% decline in operations in March and a 53% decline in passengers. April’s numbers were even worse with a 57% decline in flights and an 96% decline in passengers. The airport saw the pace of decline slow slightly in May, but the total number of passengers was still down 89%.

Timmerman, on the other

hand, then saw a sharp reversal in its traffic. The total number of operations increased 20% to 3,070 in May. The number of flightsat the airport is up 12.4% for the first five months of the year.

The year-to-date numbers are boosted by a strong January and February compared to 2019, but Gavin Leake, chief pilot for GranAire Inc., which does business as Spring City Aviation East LLC and flies charter flights and flight schools from the airport, says business has been picking up.

“In May, but especially in June, our charter numbers have really

gone through the roof. It’s become very busy,” he said.

Data for June is set to be released in mid-July and was not available at press time.

Leake said the uptick in charter flights seems to be coming from both business and personal travel.

“The business travel we’ve seen is the return of some customers we’ve flown before who are just now able to travel again,” he said, adding he’s also seen new customers flying for both business and personal reasons.

Spring City implemented extra sanitizing procedures before and

Milwaukee Mitchell International Number of Operations

Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport Number of Operations

2019

2020

Change

Month

2019

2020

Change

8,329

8,301

-0.3%

January

1,525

2,650

73.8%

7,738

7,994

3.3%

February

1,211

2,416

99.5%

9,409

7,704

-18.1%

March

2,695

2,026

-24.8%

8,929

3,868

-56.7%

April

1,787

823

-53.9%

9,252

3,944

-57.4%

May

2,558

3,070

20.0%

43,657

31,811

-27.1%

YTD

9,776

10,985

12.4%

after flights for both charter and flight school operations. The fixed base operations in the terminal building also follow Milwaukee County requirements since the facility is county owned.

Leake said charter flights have an advantage over commercial flights, just as Airbnbs and other vacation rentals offer consumers more ability to control their environment compared to staying in a hotel.

“Predictably, people don’t want to be in the airline terminals and on airliners packed in with a bunch of other folks, so the advantage, of course, is you can fly with your group, with people you know, with your family or your co-workers or employees,” he said.

“It sure takes a lot of the variables out and you can turn what would have been a two- or three-day trip into a one-day trip when you use charter, so it seems people are really starting to understand the benefits, especially now.”

Leake said Spring City’s flight school business, which operates in Waukesha and Burlington in addition to Timmerman, is also picking up and he’s seen an increase in hobby and business aircraft flights.

“It seems like there’s a pretty big backlog of flying that would have been done when everything was shut down,” he said. “It seems like people are getting out and about a little bit.”

While business is up for now,

it remains to be seen if the trend continues. Leake said he is optimistic that people will see the value of private travel as airlines get tougher to work with and people seek to avoid crowded public places.

“We’ve been very busy, especially the last month or two months,” he said.

One possibility going forward is that the growing popularity of remote work could limit the number of business trips companies need to make. However, Leake pointed out that many of Spring City’s customer often need to fly to be on site physically, citing an engineering company going to a dam or a piece of infrastructure for an inspection.

“As far as we can tell, the trips that have been delayed or canceled have been just due to the decision not to meet at all,” he said.

“We haven’t seen it,” Leake said of remote work cutting into flights. “But we’re counting a negative there because if the phone doesn’t ring, we don’t know why or why not.”

A third area of Spring City’s business is in brokering the sale and purchase of aircraft. Leake said business typically picks up each year as the weather warms up.

“I really wasn’t expecting it this time around, but interest is there, airplanes are selling, people are buying airplanes, so that’s also positive,” he said. n

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Real Estate

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Rendering of The Couture

Next steps for The Couture

BARRETT LO Visionary Development’s years-long quest to build The Couture seemed to take a significant step forward in June when the firm announced it had secured the equity financing it needed for the project.

However, several things still

need to happen before the $122 million, 44-story luxury residential tower is built near downtown Milwaukee’s lakefront.

Now that he has secured the needed equity for the project, developer Rick Barrett can resubmit the project for a loan guarantee through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In a statement, Barrett said HUD invited him in June to file a formal application for the loan guarantee.

“As we have said throughout this process, we are working tirelessly to make this iconic, transformative building a reality,” Barrett, founder and chief executive officer of Barrett Lo Visionary Development, said in a statement.

People have been waiting to see The Couture come out of the ground at East Michigan Street and North Lincoln Memorial Drive since the project was first announced in 2012. But there’s more work to be done before that can happen.

First, Barrett needs to secure the loan guarantee. And that can’t be achieved until he formally submits the application. So far, he has only submitted the project to HUD for consideration. After a review, the agency then asked him to apply.

As of early July, Barrett still had not submitted the application, according to HUD spokeswoman Gina Rodriguez. HUD could not give a timeline on how long it would take to review and approve

UGLY BUILDING: MUTUAL MALL , WEST BEND The vacant building next to West Bend City Hall is an eyesore, and the city has been trying to put it into the hands of the private sector for commercial redevelopment.

The Mutual Mall building, 1043 S. Main St., is owned by the city. Jay Shambeau, West Bend city administrator, said the city is working with a potential buyer who is interested in constructing a Bridgestone tire store there. The buyer has until August to indicate whether they will move forward with the purchase, he said.

The site also drew interest last year from Milwaukee-based ICAP Development, though a deal never moved forward.

The city previously acquired the building and City Hall property from West Bend Mutual Insurance. The company once considered the area for a potential expansion, but eventually moved forward with other plans.

Mutual Mall

18 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

incremental financing. The city has set aside $2 million for the relocation work, as part of nearly $51.6 million in project expenses in the TIF district. Other TIF expenses include $31 million for the streetcar’s lakefront line, which is to run through The Couture, $17.5 million in public amenities at The Couture site, and other expenses including street paving, workforce training and administration costs.

The city is also planning to create the public Lakefront Gateway plaza across Lincoln Memorial Drive from The Couture site. Fleming said the city is “anticipating moving forward” with the plaza, but did not provide further details.

“We are glad the (Couture) project has reached this stage, and we continue to have optimism about its positive impact on the city, the lakefront, and the streetcar,” Fleming said.

If it is eventually built, The Couture will have overcome a number of significant obstacles. It started with a years-long battle over development rights at the site, which formerly housed Milwaukee County’s Downtown Transit Center.

Skyscrapers aren’t built in Milwaukee every day, so a project as large and complex as The Couture poses financing challenges. Barrett has said as much previously. In fact, he recruited Milwaukee-based investment firm R.W. Baird & Co. Inc. last summer to help him secure his final needed bit of equity.

Whether this time is the charm still remains to be seen. But The Couture has finally inched forward after numerous setbacks. n

PARTNERS IN DESIGN ARCHITECTS

the guarantee.

“HUD invited the borrower’s lender to submit an application for firm commitment, but that application has not yet been received, therefore we cannot ascertain a timeline,” Rodriguez said in an email.

It’s important to note The Couture has been at this stage before, although the situation is different now.

Barrett announced in November 2018 that HUD had asked him to submit additional information on his loan guarantee application.

But after several extensions, Barrett did not meet the deadline to submit his final application.

That doesn’t mean Barrett has to start all over again with the HUD application process this time around. Rodriguez said HUD has the discretion to accept a “directto-firm commitment” application, rather than require an applicant to go through the pre-application stage a second time.

According to HUD documents, a direct-to-firm application should only be considered for projects in strong markets, where both the lender and borrower acknowledge in writing the risk of a rejection, there are no environmental issues, and the lender, borrower and development team have “previous positive experience” with Federal Housing Act multi-family financing.

Barrett had a loan backed by HUD in developing The Moderne, a 30-story high rise southwest of West Juneau Avenue and North Old World 3rd Street downtown.

Barrett did not respond to a request for an update on both the project itself and the application’s status. A spokesperson on behalf of Barrett Lo declined to provide a comment.

There’s also the matter of moving an underground sewer pipe at The Couture site. That work has not been done but is set to move forward with the initial stage of The Couture construction, said Jeff Fleming, a spokesman with Milwaukee’s Department of City Development.

The sewer relocation work would be paid for through city tax

ANOTHER ZILBER INDUSTRIAL BUILDING AT BUSINESS PARK OF KENOSHA Milwaukee-based Zilber Property Group is adding to the hot industrial market in Racine and Kenosha counties with construction of its fourth speculative industrial building in the Business Park of Kenosha.

The 23,359-square-foot building is under construction at one of the few remaining industrial land sites in the 240-acre business park. Work is anticipated to finish this fall. The project and design team consists of Partners in Design Architects, Riley Construction and Pinnacle Engineering Group.

“The Business Park of Kenosha has proven to be a successful location for us to invest and attract a wide range of industrial users,” said John Kersey, executive vice president of Zilber Property Group’s parent company Zilber Ltd. “We continue to remain confident in the Kenosha County industrial market.”

DEVELOPER: Zilber Property Group SIZE: 23,359 square feet CONTRACTOR: Riley Construction

LISC - LOCAL I NI TI ATI V E S SUPPORT COR P ORATI ON PHONE: (414) 930-1746 WEB: lisc.org/milwaukee Together with residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families.

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ST RECA STORY O R F E V CO OMIC CON E R YEA MID-

2020 Mid-Year Economic Forecast

20 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

ANANDU VINOD AND JOHN TOWNER - UNSPLASH.COM

T

BY ANDREW WEILAND, staff writer

his was supposed to be Milwaukee’s big year, a year unlike any other in the city’s history.

Consider what could have been for Milwaukee in 2020: In June, the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA and are led by reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, could have won their first championship since 1971. The eyes of the national and international sports world would have been on Milwaukee and Fiserv Forum.

Downtown could have been the site of the biggest celebration it has seen in decades.

But the NBA season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now is set to resume with 22 teams, including the Bucks, playing their games at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. If the Bucks win a championship, we will only be able to watch from afar.

In July, Milwaukee would have again been in the national and international spotlight as host of the Democratic National Convention. The DNC was expected to attract 50,000 visitors and make an economic impact on the region of $200 million. In addition to the main event at Fiserv Forum, DNC-related events were to be held all over town.

But due to COVID-19 the DNC was first moved to August, and then was dramatically scaled down to a mostly virtual event with few attendees expected to come to Milwaukee.

In addition to the economic impact from the events, the Bucks’ possible NBA Finals appearance and the DNC were game-changing opportunities for Milwaukee to tell its story to the world and showcase itself as a revitalized city and a world-class place to live, work and play. But COVID-19 has changed those plans dramatically and robbed Milwaukee of those opportunities.

COVID-19 has altered many other local plans this year.

In September, the Ryder Cup was scheduled to be played at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan County. It was recently postponed to 2021. The biennial men’s golf competition between American and European teams will bring international attention to Wisconsin’s growing status as home to some of America’s greatest golf courses. The event is expected to attract 50,000 visitors and an economic impact of $135 million to the region. Hopefully it goes off without a hitch, next year.

Other notable events planned in Milwaukee this year included the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in August, which was expected to bring 13,000 visitors and a $6 million economic impact. The triathlon was canceled for 2020, but Milwaukee will still get to host the event in 2021 and 2022. biztimes.com / 21

ST RECA STORY O R F E V CO OMIC CON E R the slow the spread of the coronavirus. At press YEA MIDtime COVID-19 has caused more than 126,000 deaths in the United States, including 796 in Wisconsin. More than 31,000 people in Wisconsin have tested positive for the virus.

Most of the state’s economy has reopened since mid-May, but many businesses are operating at limited capacity to maintain social distancing and keep customers and employees safe. Some companies still have a large percentage of their employees working from home.

The social distancing measures enacted to fight COVID-19 stopped the economy in its tracks. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate jumped from 3.1% in March to 13.6% in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The National Bureau of Economic Research says the expansion of the U.S. economy that began in June of 2009 at the end of the Great Recession peaked in February of this year. The expansion lasted 128 months, the longest in the history of U.S. business cycles dating back to 1854. The previous record was held by the business expansion that lasted for 120 months from March 1991 to March 2001.

Then, after the

TOM BARRETT - UNSPLASH.COM

In addition to those special events, Milwaukee’s big annual events that bring the city and region to life each year, including Summerfest and the Wisconsin State Fair, have all been canceled.

Milwaukee was also expecting its best passenger cruise season ever this year. As many as 17 vessels were expected to bring more than 4,000 tourists to Milwaukee from June to October, but they are not sailing this year.

The Milwaukee Brewers season is set to finally begin, but without spectators and with fewer games.

Nothing has gone as planned for Milwaukee’s big year, which instead has brought us one devastation after another.

The Milwaukee community was shocked in late February when an employee at the Molson Coors brewery, one of the city’s most iconic businesses in its most iconic industry, shot and killed five employees and himself.

Then in March, the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States and much of the country’s economy was shut down. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued a “Safer at Home” order that lasted from March 25 until it was struck down by the state Supreme Court on May 13.

“Safer at Home” and other similar orders were an attempt

death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, protesters across the country have marched in the streets decrying systemic racism and police brutality. Protests have been ongoing in Milwaukee since the weekend after Floyd’s death. They have been mostly peaceful, but the first weekend in particular included numerous incidents of looting and destruction that damaged dozens of businesses in Milwaukee.

So, what was supposed to be Milwaukee’s big year is in shambles. The local and national economy is in a severe downtown. After flattening the COVID-19 curve, cases in Wisconsin and several other states are significantly on the rise. At the same time, many Americans are demanding change to address longstanding racial inequality in our society.

Where do we go from here? How does Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin collectively pick itself up and move forward?

For starters, the worst of the economic damage could be over. Hopefully.

“This may be one of the shortest recessions on record and

22 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

CEO Q&A

SPONSORED CONTENT

DAVID METZGER President and CEO, Accelerated Analytical BIZTIMES: When/how did Accelerated Analytical start?

DAVE METZGER: The company started as a side gig in my garage, where I developed testing and analysis methods that were both precise enough for the FDA market and delivered the rapid turnaround and customer service that the environmental market needed. Now we have around 50 employees and a 20,000-square-foot lab.

BT: Describe Accelerated Analytical and what kind of testing you do.

DM: We provide ISO17025 and cGMP microbiology and analytical chemistry testing for a variety of industries including food, OTC and pharmaceutical.

During the initial outbreak we were designated as an essential industry as we are a support laboratory to companies like Purell. Our primary function is to provide companies with solid defensible results for compliance testing.

We recently added COVID-19 antibody testing and we are a manufacturer of our own testing materials.

BT: In addition to Accelerated Analytical what other companies do you own?

DM: We also own Titan Labs, which manufactures cutting-edge CBD products; Accelerated Cannabis Laboratories, which tests hemp products such as edibles and tinctures as well as plant material; Accelerated Analytical University (AAU), an education program we started in 2016 to train college students and industry professionals to prepare them for jobs like those within our lab; and our newest addition Accelerated Diagnostics, which focuses on drug screening, drugs of abuse testing and COVID testing.

BT: Can you describe your services as it relates to Accelerated Diagnostics and the onsite COVID Testing?

DM: Accelerated Diagnostics provides an onsite, one stop shop approach to testing. Through strategic alliances with key partners such as REM Occupational Health and End Point Solutions we are able to provide a turnkey approach to employee testing and monitoring. This approach gives company owners ultimate control over how they respond and mitigate their COVID response.

BT: Does Accelerated Diagnostics do drive-thru COVID-19 testing? If so, how does it work?

DM: We are working on it and plan to be live by month’s end. It would be very similar to what is done with the National Guard’s testing. Our testing would include two stations — the paperwork would be done and the patient registered at the first station. The next station would actually provide the COVID testing.

It’s a nasal swab, but not the dreaded Nasopharyngeal (NP) swab.

BT: Can Accelerated Diagnostics do testing at a company’s physical location?

DM: Accelerated Diagnostics offers onsite services, which is completely unique to us. We are the only lab offering onsite COVID testing, making it easy and convenient for your employees. Most importantly, it keeps your company in control of a potential COVID-19 outbreak.

David Metzger

BT: Are your testing services covered by insurance?

DM: Testing is covered by insurance at the hospital sites and pharmacies.

Our affiliated partner, REM Occupational Health and Wellness, is innetwork for United Healthcare. Most testing sites are capable of covering this test through insurance.

BT: What is a company’s potential next steps to consider your testing services?

DM: If you and your company are concerned about an employee testing positive for COVID-19 or would like to take proactive steps to protect your workforce, there are preventative measures that can be taken. We can serve as one of those solutions.

The current situation with COVID-19 can be full of uncertainty. But being as proactive possible and knowing how to react to changing circumstances can go a long way toward keeping your employees — and your business — healthy.

CLICK HERE to download our FREE Guide to Keeping Control During COVID-19

9075 West Heather Avenue • Milwaukee, WI 53224 (888) 770-6896 • www.acceleratedlabs.com

ST RECA STORY O R F E V CO OMIC CON E R said Avik Chakrabarti, an associate professor of YEA MIDeconomics at UW-Milwaukee.

As stay-at-home requirements have been dropped and much of the economy restarted, the labor market has made significant improvement.

The U.S. economy added 7.3 million jobs in May and June and the unemployment rate improved to 11.1% in June.

But the nation’s economy still has a long way to go to recover. It is nearly 14 million jobs short of its labor count in February.

“While the recession may be over, the negative effects from this will last for many years,” Sadoff said. “This recession is deep. … Many will not get their job back even when the economy is fully reopened in the future. … It will take a long time for the economy to get back to levels from before the virus.”

Charkrabarti Sadoff said the economic recovery won’t be V-shaped, as some hope. He envisions a

JON ELLIOTT – MKE DRONES

could be over already,” said Michael Sadoff, owner of Glendale-based Sadoff Investment Management LLC. “We have experienced a horrific recession but it is likely that the worst is behind us and there is growth ahead.”

The U.S. economy lost 21.2 million jobs in March and April and Sadoff the nation’s unemployment rate skyrocketed from 3.5% in February to 14.7% in April as much of the American economy was shut down in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“The speed and intensity of the current recession has been as unprecedented as the public health crisis ensuing COVID-19,”

recovery with a chart that looks like a backwards J, with a dramatic drop and then a short U-shaped upturn, followed by gradual improvement.

Chakrabarti expects a U-shaped recovery, but says a W-shaped path is also possible.

“A U-shaped recovery appears to match the most likely outlook with the American economy rocking in a cradle getting ready to swing high once the public health crisis is resolved,” he said.

“A W-shaped recovery, resembling the experience of the economy when it had fallen into a couple of back-to-back recessions in 1980 and 1981 following the oil and inflation crises of 1979, cannot be ruled out if the anticipated path of expansion is truncated by the emergence of any other seemingly unanticipated crisis once COVID-19 is tamed,” he added.

If 2020 has taught us anything, an unanticipated crisis could be just around the corner.

But the biggest concern for the economy could be a dramatic second surge of COVID-19 that forces additional social distancing lockdowns that shut down large parts of the economy.

This summer several states, including Wisconsin, have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases.

But the good news is the number of new deaths per day in the state from the virus has been in decline since late May. And the number of people in southeastern Wisconsin that are hospitalized with COVID-19 has fallen from 340

24 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

CEO Q&A

SPONSORED CONTENT

JUSTIN A. SMITH President and CEO, C.D. Smith Construction, Inc. BIZTIMES: What is your philosophy on innovation within your firm?

JUSTIN SMITH: At C.D. Smith our philosophy on innovation is to work smarter. We focus on best practices in all areas of our business and are dedicated to continuous improvement and innovation. Our entire workforce is empowered and encouraged to bring forward new ideas for better ways of working. Most importantly, we communicate what works across the company to realize the full benefits of successful ideas.

BT: What is your personal history and how has it affected your leadership?

JS: This company was founded by my great-grandfather. I literally grew up here and have served in many roles. Starting as a laborer and working to my current position has afforded me a perspective to better lead the organization. Since I have done or been a part of what our teams do in the field and in the office, I truly understand what it takes to build successful relationships and projects while striving to be the best at what we do.

BT: How do you define success and what drives you to succeed?

JS: To me, success is setting clearly defined goals and meeting or exceeding them. Success is knowing what you stand for and standing for it even when it’s not the easy thing to do. Success is doing what you say you will do. It is my commitment to our company and to my family that motivates me to succeed.

BT: From your experience, what are the strongest qualities you’ve seen in leaders and how do those qualities translate into success?

JS: I believe strong leaders are those who build accountable, high performing teams. To do that, a leader must also empower their people to make important decisions in their area and collaborate to influence success in other areas. Most importantly, I believe in surrounding myself with people smarter than me.

BT: What sets your firm apart from others?

JS: This is easy. Our people are what sets us apart. Though that may sound simple or even a little cliché, it’s true. At C.D. Smith more than 20% of our employees have been with the company for 10 years or more. We continue to hear from our clients and industry partners that they enjoy working with C.D. Smith because of the “get it done right” mentality of all of our people. From our newest field staff through leadership, we strive to ensure each employee embodies our core values of Hard Work, Adaptability and Building Relationships.

BT: What have been your highlights in business over the past year?

JS: Over the past year we have fully aligned our project management and financial systems. The process was intense and painful at times. However, this was a necessary step to enable us to provide the best service to our clients and business partners.

Justin A. Smith

BT: What’s next for your company?

JS: Growth. I am confident we have the right people, in the right seats to position our company for continued growth. Our goal isn’t necessarily to be the biggest; we desire to grow strategically at a pace that does not compromise quality, safety or culture.

BT: What are the challenges facing the industry going forward?

JS: The single biggest challenge facing our industry today is the shortage of skilled tradespeople. Let’s face it, the trades have taken a back seat to college education and strong arguments can be made for either career path. This has created a barrier to replacing the talent and skills of our veterans as they hang up their tool belts. At C.D. Smith we are proactive in our efforts to attract the next generation by partnering with area high schools and trade schools to inspire careers in construction. Recruitment is only the first step, however.

Once we hire, we provide the training and growth opportunities that create a culture of continuous learning and instill a desire to live our core values.

241 North Broadway • Milwaukee, WI 53202 (920) 924-2900 • www.cdsmith.com

biztimes.com / 25

ST RECA STORY O R F E V CO OMIC CON E R conventions that have been canceled or postponed, YEA MIDwhich means 2021 and 2022 are busier that we had first predicted,” she said.

Port Milwaukee director Adam Schlicht sees COVID-19 as only a temporary disruptor of Port Milwaukee’s momentum in efforts to attract cruise ship traffic. Eleven cruise ship visits have already been booked for 2021, and international cruise giant Viking hasn’t wavered on its plans to enter the Great Lakes market in 2022.

“This is not the year Williams-Smith we wanted it to be for the city but there are may ways for us to move ahead and recover,” Williams-Smith said.

The second half of 2020 will likely be filled with conflict as a deeply divided country heads toward a presidential election.

And Black Lives Matter protests are continuing in Milwaukee and throughout the country, mostly peacefully, but in some cases they have turned violent and involved destruction to statues and monuments, including two on the

TOM BARRETT - UNSPLASH.COM

in mid-April to 154 in early July, according to the state Department of Health Services.

What remains to be seen is if the summertime spread of COVID-19 leads to another economic shutdown in the fall.

“A recovery will become increasingly elusive if the wave of COVID-19 resurges,” Chakrabarti said. “A second wave of COVID-19 can pull the American economy down into a depression and force an eventual recovery to be L-shaped with the economy struggling to approach pre-recession levels of growth.”

And what about Milwaukee? How does the city move forward after its lost year?

The shift of the DNC to a mostly virtual event is the biggest lost opportunity for Milwaukee this year. Some, including Pabst Theater Group executive director Gary Witt say local officials should push the DNC to return to Milwaukee with a full convention in 2024.

Other events are likely to be rescheduled. If the Ryder Cup is postponed it will likely be played at Whistling Straits in 2021 instead.

VISIT Milwaukee president and chief executive officer Peggy Williams-Smith said several events that were planned in Milwaukee this year are being rescheduled.

“Our sales team has been busy re-booking

Capitol Square in Madison.

Hopefully the focus on civil rights will bring about positive change in Milwaukee, which has long struggled with racial inequality and segregation.

“It’s important in this critical time in Milwaukee and in our country that we continue to challenge ourselves and our institutions to commit to structural racial equity work,” said David Crowley, who earlier this year became the first African Crowley American to be elected Milwaukee County Executive. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a long line of health disparities caused by deeply rooted racial inequities. At Milwaukee County, we have committed ourselves to redistributing power and changing our institutional policies and practices. For us at Milwaukee County racial equity isn’t a slogan, it is the way we now approach business and our path forward.” n

26 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

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VICKI J. MARTIN President, Milwaukee Area Technical College BIZTIMES: What is your philosophy on innovation within your organization?

VICKI MARTIN: Milwaukee Area Technical College must – and will – innovate to meet regional needs. It’s a key college value. We are agile and responsive to changing conditions, while anticipating future needs to best serve our students and communities. MATC has demonstrated innovation many times in its history. MATC ReStart is the latest example of innovation. We knew that thousands of former MATC students who left before graduating faced a barrier to return: $1,500 or less in past debt. On average, these students owed just more than $500 for past tuition, books or fees. Without a way to pay it back, they were missing out on an opportunity to better themselves and meet employers’ need for skilled workers. We started with a pilot, providing a debt forgiveness scholarship to more than 50 students who re-enrolled. If they continue through three semesters, their debt will be forgiven as they work toward finishing their technical diploma or associate degree. This spring, we extended that offer to about 7,000 former students and early response has been strong.

BT: What role has innovation played in your organization’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

VM: Innovation is a must in response to COVID-19. We moved 1,500 classes online in a matter of weeks to help students continue learning.

We distributed more than 1,000 Chromebooks to bridge the digital divide among our students. We brought students back in small, limited groups this summer to finish courses that must take place in person. We’re innovating and learning from what we offered in spring to make online courses better, to offer in-person sections with safety precautions in place and to provide classes that mix online and in-person instruction to maximize safety and student learning.

BT: What is your greatest success story in initiating change?

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Vicki J. Martin, Ph.D.

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VM: Growth opportunities include expanding our Second Chance Pell efforts to educate students who are incarcerated, adding more eight-week courses to fit student needs and providing more support with online instruction.

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700 West State Street • Milwaukee, WI 53233 (414) 297-6282 • www.matc.edu

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LEFT: Badger Mutual moved into its new downtown offices three months into the COVID-19 outbreak.

RIGHT TOP: Rendering of Hydrite Chemical Co. headquarters at The Corridor in Brookfield.

RIGHT BELOW: Rendering of the office building that Milliman Inc. will anchor at The Corridor development in Brookfield.

How the office market is adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic

BY ALEX ZANK, staff writer BADGER MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. announced last fall it would relocate its headquarters from Milwaukee’s south side to downtown. About eight months later, the company had officially moved into its new digs – 16,500 square feet at The 42 building southeast of West Juneau Avenue and North Ninth Street – in the middle of a global pandemic.

The company was still designing its future office space in March when the COVID-19 outbreak began spreading in Wisconsin. Many businesses were forced to close due to state and local mandates. And many businesses deemed essential, including Badger Mutual, had its employees work from home in an attempt to avoid infection and spread of the virus.

On a late June weekday, the new Badger Mutual offices, meant to hold 85 employees, looked to be less than half full. At that point, departments were required to ensure fewer than 50% of their employees were on-site any given day, said Badger Mutual president and chief executive officer Dan Nigro.

“We’re just going to take a look at this in twoweek or weekly periods as we meet as executives, and what we feel is safe, what’s happening in the area, what’s happening in the building, and make decisions based on that,” Nigro said. “The employees … are awesome through all this. They all have safely moved into their space and got it organized, but it’s not like they’re knocking on the door saying, ‘We want in.’”

While their situation differs from many office users, Badger Mutual’s approach is similar to what 28 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

other companies have taken and will likely take for the remaining half of the year, according to Milwaukee-area office market experts.

What the coming months have in store for the market is largely dependent on the progression of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Office real estate brokers say office users will slowly bring back workers, barring major setbacks. Office space deals will still get done, though some users are opting to stay put or make no major changes until conditions stabilize. And though brokers predict significant long-term changes to the way people work, the need for a physical office space will remain, they say.

BACK TO THE OFFICE A majority of companies have begun calling employees back to the office, but the policies related to their return vary, said Andrew Jensen, principal with Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke.

“Almost unanimously, yes, employees are coming back to the office in 2020,” he said. “It’s just a matter of what percentage and how they do it.”

Alyssa Geisler, senior associate of CBRE Wisconsin, said none of her clients have required all employees to come back, and the majority are having workers return only if they’re comfortable.

Office tenants in large downtown towers seem to be taking longer to call workers back, likely because of the challenge of workers facing bottleneck points in getting to the office.

Elevators, for example, present a problem.

Geisler noted that only one or two people can use elevators at a time if they are adhering to social distancing practices. But that creates long wait times for those in line.

“Elevators, I think, is the biggest thing companies are trying to figure out how to solve,” Geisler said.

Geisler predicted the slow return to normal will extend into next year.

“The majority aren’t going to be back to normal in 2020,” she said. “If anything, we’re talking more like a year out, so mid-2021.”

As workers return, they will likely encounter new safety practices and protocols, including dividers in office walkways, sanitization and mask requirements, markers or signs to aid with social distancing, and glass dividers.

But so far office space users aren’t spending big money to overhaul their spaces because of the outbreak, Geisler and Jensen said.

“Nobody is making big changes right now and spending money on existing space or designing new,” Jensen said. “They’re still trying to figure out what are the best practices. There are conversations of going from cubicles that were low to raising them, putting plexiglass shields between desks, people doing more private offices. Conversations are happening, but for the most part, people aren’t spending money yet.”

NEW LEASES While some companies have announced major office relocations in the area, many are deciding to hold off on making major changes until they have more certainty.

Geisler noted a lot of her clients have opted for short-term lease renewals while they wait for the health crisis to subside.

“I think a lot of people are trying to buy time

until we get there,” she said.

Even so, it appears that activity is picking up again, she said.

Several new leases and relocations have been announced in recent months. Brookfield-based Hydrite Chemical Co. plans to move its headquarters and Seattle-based Milliman Inc. plans to move its Brookfield office to new buildings planned in The Corridor mixed-use development in Brookfield in 2022. EXACTA Corp. has relocated from Brookfield to the Technology Innovation Research Center in Wauwatosa. Milwaukee-based Northern Ground will move into a historic former church in Walker’s Point this fall. Boston-based Gordon Bros. and Elm Grove-based Annex Wealth Management are relocating their Mequon offices to The Pointe at East Mequon Corporate Center.

And Rexnord Corp. appears to be moving forward with relocating its offices to downtown Milwaukee. According to city records, the company this month began slowly moving 120 employees into its new space at 111 W. Michigan St. But it isn’t clear how many workers, if any, will be in the office during the pandemic. Rexnord did not respond to a request for comment.

Milwaukee-based Irgens Partners LLC, is among the busiest office developers and landlords in the market. It is the developer of The Corridor and the new 25-story BMO Tower in downtown Milwaukee, which opened to tenants this spring.

Tom Irgens, executive vice president of Irgens, said the firm’s new office buildings offer a chance for companies to rethink their office environments in the context of a world altered by the pandemic.

“I think moving into a fresh space with brandnew HVAC systems, and they’re able to realize efficiencies, it really brings value to their organizations and team members,” he said. “It’s really an opportunity for them to continue to invest in their people.”

FUTURE OF OFFICES Office real estate brokers also predict some potential long-term changes as a result of COVID-19.

Geisler said companies could turn to a “hub and spoke” model for physical offices, which would involve a large central office presence along with several small satellite locations that are more convenient and offer a safer environment during a pandemic. It would give employees more control over where they work, and they could choose based on their comfortability.

“It might make people more comfortable to have more options like that,” she said.

The work-from-home movement will likely come out of this stronger than ever. Geisler said companies that were reluctant to implement workfrom-home policies have been forced to do so because of the pandemic.

“I think just that whole span of control with

employees, (from) work-from-home to hub office, is the future,” she said.

But with those changes, brokers said the need for physical space will remain, citing the importance of collaboration and culture.

Jensen said some firms, including his own, already had a policy allowing people to work from home for certain situations. That will only be more widespread, but it won’t be full-time for the vast majority of workers, he said.

“With COVID, I think that everybody is realizing you can work from home,” he said. “The caveat to that is culture. I think that what we believe very firmly is if there’s too much work from home, you lose the company culture.”

Being in the office also allows employees to strengthen relationships and learn from one another. This is especially important for younger workers or those learning new roles, said Katie Brueske, real estate advisor with Cushman & Wakefield | Boerke.

“Just being younger in my career, learning and development is a lot harder to do from home,” Brueske said. “Just being in the office, whether it’s a recent college grad or people changing positions … it’s difficult to try to learn when you’re not face-to-face with someone because you can’t ask all those questions all the time. A lot of learning is done by overhearing people talk in the office and learning the language, sitting in on meetings, and you can’t do all those things when you’re at home.” n

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Former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden speaking with attendees at the 2019 Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Derailed DNC threatens Milwaukee’s convention dreams

BY MAREDITHE MEYER, staff writer THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION COMMITTEE insists that Milwaukee will remain a centerpiece of what’s been reduced to a mostly virtual convention this summer, but with only a fraction of the visitors coming to town and the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus still looming, the once-promised national spotlight for the city is looking pretty dim.

It’s still unclear how many people will actually be in attendance at the Democratic National Convention’s main stage events in Milwaukee, now taking place at the Wisconsin Center instead of Fiserv Forum due to a smaller crowd, according to the DNCC. State delegations have been urged to stay home and cast votes remotely, and media positions have been reduced.

Politico reported on party discussions of capping attendance at 1,000 people. Organizers contacted by BizTimes Milwaukee couldn’t confirm, saying the number depends on guidance from local, state and federal public health officials, including epidemiologists Dr. Larry Brilliant and Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, who are now advising the DNCC. All four nights of what’s been dubbed a “convention across America” will be staged and broadcast live from Milwaukee and other satellite locations across the country that have yet to be announced.

Former Vice President Joe Biden plans to of30 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

ficially accept the party’s nomination in person in Milwaukee, but details surrounding the rest of the convention’s programming have yet to be unveiled, other than the fact that it will include both live broadcasts and user-generated content.

Despite the fuzzy outline of the DNC’s new format, it’s clear the event will be significantly smaller than initial projections of 50,000 visitors and $200 million in economic impact to the region.

That’s a hard pill to swallow for Milwaukee’s business community, which was largely responsible for shelling out most of the $70 million originally needed to put on the event, said Tim Sheehy, president of Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

“The corporations that gave, gave because of the impact on Milwaukee,” Sheehy said. “But giving also has an opportunity cost – that’s money that’s now not being spent in Milwaukee and it’s money that (those businesses) don’t have to spend in Milwaukee. This is not a bottomless fountain.”

Sheehy said he doesn’t blame the DNCC for its decision to go virtual with the convention. The value of having Milwaukee’s name attached to a major political convention still stands, and the standards that the city met during the bid process indicated that it’s capable of handling an event of this magnitude, he said.

Sheehy

Lasry

“But what we don’t have is the proof that we can pull it off,” he added.

Alex Lasry, senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks and leader of the local bid committee that brought the DNC to Milwaukee, believes winning the DNC bid is equally as significant as hosting it at full scale.

“There are no bigger conventions than the DNC,” he said. “So, if the DNC is saying from a logistics standpoint and from a capacity standpoint that Milwaukee can handle the convention, that means we can do it. They’ve already given us the seal of approval.”

He said it’s time for Milwaukee to put itself out there for other large-scale events and conventions down the road. Plus, the corporate and institutional support is there, considering Milwaukee raised more money than other potential host cities during the bid process, he said.

The convention remains an opportunity for Milwaukee to tell its story and gain media exposure.

But that doesn’t take away from the huge loss to the city and the local businesses that stood to benefit.

Among them is Milwaukee-based JCP Con-

struction. In February, the business won the local host committee’s bid for construction general contractor, and would have been part of the team responsible for building out Fiserv Forum and the surrounding property for the DNC. Now that the mostly-virtual event has been moved to the convention center, the major contract has been scaled back, said James Phelps, president of JCP Construction.

The family-owned business had allocated resources to ensure it exceeded the DNC’s expectations, he said. Now, revenue is expected to take a hit. There’s still work to be done at the convention center but not nearly as much as what was originally planned.

“It’s unfortunate that we won’t necessarily have the DNC in the same scope and context as we had originally hoped, but Milwaukeeans and business owners all want to still show what Milwaukee is made of and what it has to offer,” said Phelps.

Amid months of uncertainty around the convention’s format and whether it would still take place in Milwaukee, some local leaders, including Sheehy, have tossed around the idea of Milwaukee hosting the convention in 2024.

Now, Sheehy questions whether the same level of financial support could be garnered from the business community a second time around when the benefit this year, he estimates, will be “10 or 20% of what it could have been.”

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has also

been a supporter of bringing the DNC back to Milwaukee in four years. Barnes said he’d love to see Milwaukee top the Democrats’ potential host city list in 2024, but the chances of being selected for two consecutive conventions is slim, he said.

“I think the challenge in front of us is it’s much more difficult now,” Barnes said. “If it went to an all-virtual convention, there may be more of a chance.”

Barnes said Wisconsin’s politics, coming off of President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory and the Democrats’ sweep of the 2018 mid-term election, was a huge selling point during the time of the 2020 DNC bidding process, but that may not be the case in four years.

Gary Witt, co-owner and chief executive officer of The Pabst Theater Group, has been especially vocal about the DNC’s potential return to Milwaukee. He said he’s calling on local leaders, including Mayor Tom Barrett, County Executive David Crowley and VISIT Milwaukee, to “do what’s best for Milwaukee” and campaign to bring the convention back to the city in 2024.

“I think there’s a window of time here where if they’re able to gain public support—public support bends the rules of everything that we live in today,” said Witt. “Milwaukee deserves a full DNC.” He said the opportunity to host a major in-person political convention means too much for businesses and civic leaders not to rally around it, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and

economic fallout.

“We would welcome any political convention in 2024,” said Peggy Williams-Smith, president and CEO of VISIT Milwaukee.

She echoed Barnes’ concerns over the bidding process, and how changes in the political landscape influence the party’s host city selection.

“There’s so much work that went in to bidding. You form a local organizing committee, you have to have financial commitments,” said Williams-Smith. “I am willing to work with anyone who wants to make a pitch for this, but the pitch wouldn’t start until late 2022 because we don’t even know who would be running in 2024.”

In the meantime, she is focusing on the positive impacts of Milwaukee being named host city of the DNC. Since it won its bid, Williams-Smith said, convention and event bookings in Milwaukee have increased. Before COVID-19, VISIT Milwaukee booked nearly 30,000 more hotel rooms for January through May this year than it did last year.

With the convention’s new format, Williams-Smith said she’ll miss showing Milwaukee off to visitors here for the first time. But she remains optimistic that the eyes of the world will still be on Milwaukee this summer.

“We were really looking forward to being able to welcome 50,000 guests and be able to show them what Milwaukee has to offer in person,” Williams-Smith said. “Now, we’ll just have to do it virtually.” n

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Anderson PPP has been critical to the recovery of Waukesha-based Allied Resource Recovery, said owner Phil Rehberg

Pandemic and PPP accelerate change in banking industry

BY BRANDON ANDEREGG, staff writer THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC and the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program aimed at helping businesses weather the crisis have fueled a rapid shift in the banking industry with some well-positioned for change while others find themselves in need of innovation.

Financial institutions throughout the pandemic have been pressed to find ways to deliver products to customers digitally or improve upon products already at their disposal.

As banks dealt with an influx of PPP applications in a short period of time, technology in part dictated the volume and speed at which they could process loans.

The rush to process loans proved to be a “big gotcha” moment for financial institutions, exposing the weak points of banks, particularly smaller-sized community banks, that were ill-equipped to serve customers digitally, said Kent Belasco, a former ex-

Roseland

ecutive at First Midwest Bank and director of Marquette University’s banking program.

But many fintech companies found the PPP loan process to be Goller right in their wheelhouse. In addition to disbursing PPP loans themselves, some fintech companies are selling digital solutions to smaller banks that may have had a platform to administer those loans.

“I could see where (fintech companies) look at this and see this as an opportunity,” Belasco said.

“Strategically, that could put them in good stead to be a competitor with the banks going forward.”

The financial institutions that processed the most PPP loans for Wisconsin companies included local industry leaders BMO Harris and Asso-

ciated Bank, along with multiple out-of-state fintech companies including Atlanta-based Kabbage, Inc. and Fort Lee, New Jersey-based Cross River Bank, according to BizTimes’ analysis of U.S. Small Business Administration PPP loan volume data.

For financial institutions that went to great lengths to adopt new technologies, Belasco said they will use that experience to their advantage down the road.

“If a pandemic does happen again, we should be prepared,” Belasco said. “And I think banks are already thinking in that direction.”

Meanwhile, industry experts are taking stock of how the pandemic has accelerated the use of technology in every day transactions.

At Old National Bank, clients who previously hesitated to use remote deposit capture to deposit funds have now signed up for the program in droves, said Kevin Anderson, Wisconsin region chief executive officer at Old National Bank. Clients have also turned to online treasury management tools and want more guidance on how to transact more business online, he said.

As customer behaviors change due to the work-from-home environment, banks are tailoring strategies and products to meet their needs. At Old National Bank, that has looked like enhancing its ability to execute loan documents and treasury management agreements using electronic signature, Anderson said.

Jeff Roseland, who heads Old National’s SBA operations, said the coronavirus crisis has highlighted the industry’s agility.

“We can move smart and we can be prudent, but I also think we can move fast,” Roseland said.

“We should continue to apply that sense of urgency within our bank to the benefit of our borrowers and our communities.”

Financial institutions are also likely to see a shift in their customers in the wake of the coronavirus and PPP process, according to industry experts.

Several banks were accused of demonstrating favoritism by prioritizing their larger or high-profile clients during the first round of PPP loans.

“It’s out of these emergency situations where it disrupts what relationships did exist out there,” Belasco said. “Because of the delays and their immediate need, (small businesses) started shopping

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around to find a bank that would talk to them.”

Phil Rehberg, owner of Waukesha-based recycling company Allied Resource Recovery Inc., said his business received funding in the first round of PPP, with his bank processing the loan in three days. Rehberg said he knows of other business owners, particularly those with small-sized companies, who were not as fortunate, including a local landscaper whose needs were not immediately met by a larger bank.

“Here you have a big national bank that doesn’t want to bother with (PPP) because this was a very small business, this landscaper, but then you have a small local regional bank that was able to jump in and long-term they’re going to have a customer,” Rehberg said.

The pandemic experience has highlighted the importance of relationships between bankers and small business owners as they navigated the challenges that neither of them could have foreseen, Anderson said.

“The level of engagement because of the COVID crisis itself gives us the opportunity to have an even deeper conversation with our clients about some of the hurdles they’re facing,” Anderson said.

What remains to be seen is whether the amount of federal funding injected into the economy will be enough to keep small businesses afloat through the pandemic.

Ace Hardware franchisee Ben Gil, who received PPP funding in the first round, said the funds that his four area stores received from the federal government have been enough to keep his business in operation. But, he places himself in a different category than many businesses because hardware stores were deemed an essential business from the onset of the pandemic.

“There’s a distinct line in the sand between essential and nonessential businesses,” Gil said. “We were an essential business, so right off the bat, we had one leg up on the ones that were forced to close. That’s huge.”

Rehberg said PPP has been critical to the recovery of Allied Resource Recovery Inc., where business was down 50% in March. Without it, he would not have been able to keep employees on the payroll or his doors open, he said.

“Right now, we only have two months of sup-

The financial institutions that processed the most PPP loans in Wisconsin (listed by loan volume): Financial institution

# of loans

Financial institution

# of loans

BMO Harris Bank

5,462

Tri City National Bank

1,073

Associated Bank

5,324

State Bank of Cross Plains

1,071

U.S. Bank

4,008

Peoples State Bank

1,014

Nicolet National Bank

2,499

Compeer Financial

978

JPMorgan Chase Bank

2,264

Bank Five Nine

959

Johnson Bank

1,933

Town Bank

959

Cross River Bank

1,932

Royal Credit Union

897

Bank First

1,789

Community First Credit Union

868

Kabbage, Inc.

1,666

Investors Community Bank

859

Waukesha State Bank

1,560

IncredibleBank

844

Summit Credit Union

1,396

Monona Bank

726

Celtic Bank Corp.

1,314

Oregon Community Bank

715

Citizens Community Federal

1,214

port, but it would have really helped us if we had a third month of support,” Rehberg said.

While the federal government’s stimulus programs have been critical to the recovery of small businesses, it may not be enough, said Chris Goller, Wisconsin regional president of Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank.

PPP was designed to give owners time to react to the sudden economic shock, and allowed businesses to shift production or explore new markets.

“We’re seeing the great ingenuity of our clients and, given time, which is what PPP did, to basically retool things,” Goller said. “I think we’re going to continue seeing that as the normal as businesses figure out how they have to operate differently.”

Experts have drawn some parallels between the current state of the economy and the financial industry crisis and Great Recession of 2008. But one key difference is banks are far more capitalized today than they were in 2008, making them

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration

an engine of recovery rather than part of the problem, Goller said.

“I think the banks have a lot of capital right now and they’re willing to lend,” Goller said. “We are lending and that’s really important. There is not a credit crunch that you have seen in other recessions where it was really difficult to get a loan.”

With the PPP loans, which are guaranteed by the government, on the books, they have increased financial institutions’ assets considerably, putting them in a strong position, Belasco said.

Still, he said banks will inevitably face loan losses from the loans of business owners and customers that are currently under a grace period.

“Will banks take any losses from other loans and other relationships they already have with small businesses?” Beslasco said. “The answer to that is yes. The big banks are already provisioning higher amounts of their reserves for loan losses. The regional and small banks, I’m certain, are doing the same thing.” n

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Health officials have encouraged visitors at Bradford Beach to spread out and wear masks to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

A second coronavirus wave can’t hit Wisconsin if the first one never recedes

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, staff writer WISCONSIN IS LOSING GROUND in the fight against COVID-19, and residents’ adherence to physical distancing and masking today will determine the state’s ability to contain the coronavirus’ spread through 2020, public health officials say.

But as warm weather draws people out of their homes and into their typical summertime activities, the communal commitment to COVID-19 precautions is waning, according to Dr. John Raymond Sr., president and chief executive officer of the Medical College of Wisconsin.

“Absolutely there should be more concern,” Raymond said. “People have relaxed their diligence very significantly over the last month. And I think we need to take a look at what’s happening in states that had the beginning of their surge of new cases a month ago. I would say look at some of the states like Texas, Florida and Arizona and their major municipalities, in particular Houston, Miami and Phoenix. All were doing pretty well back in May and are not doing well now.”

While many may be bracing themselves for a “second wave” of COVID-19 in the fall or winter, Raymond noted Wisconsin hasn’t yet cleared the first wave of the coronavirus.

“We haven’t controlled the first wave,” he said.

“So the waves, so to speak, are going to blend together. … I would say we actually need to worry more about controlling the first wave than we need to worry about a second wave.”

As of early July, Wisconsin had one of the high34 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

est COVID-19 reproductive numbers in the country (1.28) – a key indicator of the transmissibility of the coronavirus. At press time, Wisconsin’s reproductive number had been over 1 – meaning each existing infection causes more than one new infection – for 19 consecutive days. The state previously saw a 16-day stretch during which the rate was under 1.

“Cases are rising faster than the numbers of tests reported. In fact, we’ve had almost 17,000 new cases in Wisconsin since Memorial Day,” Raymond said. “And our reproductive number, which is a measure of the contagiousness of the disease … has risen.”

A combination of factors – including summer holidays, warm weather, the overturning of state and ending of municipal stay-at-home orders, the opening of bars, and protests – has likely contributed to the uptick, Raymond said.

Following the state Supreme Court decision to throw out Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order on May 13, municipalities and counties have begun reopening – with some lifting restrictions more incrementally than others. At press time, the city of Milwaukee is in phase 4 of its reopening plan, which allows retail stores, bars and restaurants to operate at 50% capacity and grocery stores to operate at 75% capacity. The city’s progression to the next phase is based on the number of COVID-19 cases in the city, testing and contact tracing capacity, hospitalizations and hospital capacity, and PPE availability.

Meanwhile, following the overturning of “Saf-

Dr. John Raymond Sr.

er at Home,” the Evers administration’s ability to institute statewide coronavirus-related restrictions is curtailed.

“Unfortunately, the reality is that the Supreme Court ruling and the Republican lawsuit really hamstrung our ability to respond to this pandemic,” Evers said during a recent call with reporters.

“That’s why we continue to ask for your help.

Public health is everyone’s issue and overcoming COVID-19 is on every community, on every age group and on every Wisconsinite.”

While younger people – a group that is less likely to experience severe symptoms or require hospitalization – are driving many of the new cases in recent weeks, asymptomatic or less symptomatic patients still could cause spread to their more vulnerable co-workers, friends and family members, Raymond said.

If people continue to relax their physical distancing and masking practices, the state can expect to see its hospitals begin filling up in four to six weeks, as they have in other states, he said.

“We might not see that increase until early to late August,” he said.

While the number of COVID-19 patients has not exceeded hospital bed and ICU bed capacity in Wisconsin to date, the onset of seasonal in-

fluenza in the fall will put an additional burden on area health systems.

“The seasonal flu starts in the fall and goes through the early winter,” Raymond said. “And we often fill up hospital beds with people who are sick with the flu. So it may complicate matters for us, first and foremost, by straining our hospital capacity. And secondarily by making it more difficult to diagnose or discern between the flu and COVID-19.”

But in many ways the state is in a better position to handle COVID-19 than three months ago. Daily statewide COVID-19 testing capacity is up to more than 19,000, with 80 labs running diagnostic tests. That is expected to grow in the coming weeks, Raymond said.

Hospitals have learned how to create internal surge capacity for COVID-19 patients, if it’s needed, and how to better triage and treat COVID-19 positive patients.

Also by the fall, a validated saliva diagnostic test for COVID-19 could be available, which is a less uncomfortable alternative to the current nasal swab option.

Several “relatively well-validated” vaccines could be available as soon as the end of the year, but there will likely be challenges in deploying them, Raymond said.

Under ordinary circumstances, it takes an average of about 12 years to develop a vaccine and bring it to market in the United States, he noted.

Developing and deploying a vaccine within 12 to

18 months of the release of COVID-19’s genetic sequence in January 2020 – as is currently projected – would be a “remarkable achievement,” he said.

But it also requires an acceleration of vaccine candidates’ pre-clinical studies, clinical studies, safety testing and manufacturing process.

“If we do get a vaccine, I think that there will be some legitimate concerns about safety and many people who normally would agree to take, say, an influenza vaccine won’t agree to take it,” Raymond said. “There will be ethical issues about whether we can make the vaccine available for children or not, at least for the first phase. And you’re already seeing a very significant ramp-up of the anti-vaccination organizations. That will also come into play.”

While people are experiencing “lockdown fatigue,” physical distancing, wearing a mask outside the home and hand washing remain the best lines of defense against COVID-19, he said.

“Masking works,” Raymond said. “We should all be doing it, whether it’s voluntary or mandatory. It’s just the right thing to do. If we care about our neighbors, if we care about our family and our loved ones and our communities, everybody should be wearing masks when they leave home.”

To reach herd immunity for COVID-19, about 70% of the population would need to be immune.

That would take years to achieve without a vaccine, Raymond said.

As planning amid the uncertainty of the coro-

navirus creates challenges, business leaders might be better served by making shorter-term plans.

“If the outlook is 12 to 18 months (for a vaccine), there are certain things when you adapt, you’re going to take and capture and use hopefully forever, and there are some things you’ll only do in the short-term,” said Jerry Jenessa, co-founder and partner of Stuck LLC. “... It might be better to have a shorter-term view, where you may only be looking out 12 months to 18 months, versus doing 3- to 5-year planning.”

Whether working off a long- or short-term plan, Jendusa recommends executing on them in 30-, 60- and 90-day increments, and continually monitoring progress on those goals.

While businesses may want to mitigate risk and tread cautiously through the end of the year, it could be an opportune time to make smart hires, he said.

“There’s a lot of talent that’s available,” Jendusa said. “It seems almost counterintuitive because if you’re looking only at financials and trying to do things to risk mitigate and preserve cash, one might not necessarily be in a hiring mode. But people make all the difference in the world, and if you can find some talent that will allow you to innovate and grow and pivot, you can leverage that talent to navigate through challenges.”

Now’s the time to add team members in the area of business development, innovation, engineering and technology-driven solutions, he said. n

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN! NOTABLE WOMEN IN LAW

BizTimes Milwaukee is launching the BizTimes Media 2020 Notable Women in Law feature within the August 17th issue of BizTimes Milwaukee. This special editorial feature will profile the women who have a track record of setting legal precedents, winning big cases for their clients and mentoring the next wave of women in law – all while finding ways to give back to their communities.

Your company, and its executives, are invited to submit a nomination form that will help us determine this year’s honorees. The special section will run in print and online, recognizing the chosen individuals for their accomplishments.

Nomination Deadline Extended

To view this year’s winners and nominate, visit biztimes.com/notable biztimes.com / 35

al R Spe ci MID-

YEAR

eport ECO

IC NOM

FORE

CAST

WEDC’s plan for a faster economic recovery in Wisconsin

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer PICK ALMOST ANY economic indicator and chances are it hit unthinkable levels in Wisconsin this year.

The unemployment rate? Jumped from 3.1% in March to 13.6% in April and was still at 12% in May. Unemployment claims? More than 750,000 initial claims were filed through mid-June compared to around 150,000 by the same time last year. There were an average of 277,000 continuing claims each week in May and June compared to around 21,000 last year.

Jobs? Private sector employment was down 338,000 from last year in May and that’s after a gain of 72,100 from April. Leisure and hospitality employment was still down 135,000 from last year.

GDP? Down 5% in the first quarter. Exports?

Down $900 million from last year and $1.2 billion from 2018.

Climbing out of the hole created by the coronavirus economic downturn won’t happen overnight. A recent report from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. estimated the state would recover 25% of lost jobs by the third quarter of this year and 75% by the second quarter of 2021, but full recovery could take more than two years.

The report, required by coronavirus-relief legislation passed in April by lawmakers and signed

by Gov. Tony Evers, also spells out ideas for boosting the recovery of Wisconsin’s economy. The bill tasked the agency with developing a plan to support the state’s major industries.

WEDC’s recommendations fall into three major buckets: Getting people back to work, fixing 36 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

broadband and supporting innovation.

“The complexity of what we’re facing is pretty awesome,” said Missy Hughes, chief executive officer and secretary of WEDC. “This isn’t just a tornado that has touched down in a small town in central Wisconsin. This is something that has hit the entire state and of course the whole world.”

Hughes also pointed out that even as WEDC and state leaders begin looking toward recovery, the challenge of getting the virus under control remains.

“The best and fastest way to get to recovery is if we can continue to do our best to control the spread of the virus,” she said. “Certainly, what we’re seeing right now is causing a lot of nail-biting for everybody.”

She said things like hand washing, social distancing and wearing a mask will be key to limiting the spread. Legal questions aside, Hughes said another shutdown of the state similar to Evers’ “Safer at Home” order from the spring may not be feasible for the state’s economy.

“The small businesses that survived until now, I’m not sure they can take another hit. We’ve got to keep the momentum, but asking them to shrink their capacity or to close is just going to be really hard,” Hughes said.

WEDC’s report highlights the variety of challenges facing the state’s major industries. Tourism, retail and service sectors are either still closed, open in a limited capacity or struggling for customers. Agriculture and food and beverage are dealing with wild shifts in demand and disruptions to their

supply chain. While manufacturing and construction did not see the same immediate disruption as, say, restaurants, lower levels of consumer spending and declining capital investment could have a long-term impact.

Some of the WEDC recommendations include things Wisconsin is already doing, like training workers for in-demand careers, investing in broadband, having established firms work with entrepreneurs and developing a Wisconsin-focused venture fund.

Hughes said the report’s three broad recommendations are important to prioritize.

“We need to focus because we’re going to be in a time of limited resources,” she said.

She noted the state budget will take a hit from the slowing economy and said Wisconsin should leverage every federal dollar possible.

Hughes said the recommendations also offer a chance for quick gains.

“Having a bias toward action on some efforts will kickstart and launch us forward, especially on innovation,” she said.

Specific innovation recommendations include piloting and funding innovative ideas for supporting entrepreneurs, including taking equity positions, incentivizing established firms to work with seed accelerators and second- or third-stage developers to mentor and provide capital to entrepreneurs, investing in a Wisconsin venture fund solely focused on supporting entrepreneurs based in the state and dedicating part of the fund to underserved, underinvested communities. Other recommendations include better connecting research institutions and industry; and supporting trends in manufacturing like artificial intelligence, data science and sustainability through entrepreneurship.

“If we can present Wisconsin as an innovative state here in the Midwest that’s moving things for-

ward, we have a real opportunity,” Hughes said.

She acknowledged the idea of WEDC taking equity investments in companies would come with more risk than some of the agency’s other investments and it would require being transparent with taxpayers about the state’s strategy.

“One of the challenges we’ve had in Wisconsin is getting access to capital and investment and so if the state shows a willingness to stand behind these businesses, then hopefully other investors will and we can create capital stacks that really move these ventures forward,” Hughes said.

“If we can demonstrate that the strategy of investing in innovation and entrepreneurship is beneficial to the whole state because we see that energy and that job creation and people wanting to move here and be a part of what’s happening in Wisconsin, rather than looking at each individual investment and saying ‘well, that was a bad idea,’” she added.

When it comes to getting people back to work, the WEDC report assumes that many of the jobs lost in the service sector will not return. The specific recommendations include incentivizing businesses to train new employees; investing in programming at technical colleges and the UW System to provide certifications while also encouraging longer term degrees; creating direct connections between businesses in need of employees and those that are willing to train or assist in training; investing in child care and education to

Missy Hughes, chief executive officer and secretary of WEDC.

support people going back to work; and addressing access to health care by expanding Medicaid.

Hughes said that with businesses like restaurants either not reopening or doing so at a smaller scale or simply with fewer customers, the challenge is in getting people into family-sustaining jobs.

“There’s a moment that we have here of taking those displaced workers and filling gaps that our

industries are seeing,” she said.

Wisconsin also benefits from already having made investments into its higher education system over the years, Hughes said.

“Where we have strengths, let’s not cut back on them. Let’s not defund and, if we can find the resources, let’s invest in them, because that’s the network that’s going to move us forward,” she said. n

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Special Report FAMILY BUSINESS

Left: (back row from left) Jacob Shully, Nina Shully-Darling, Scott Shully, (front from left) Hadley Shully and Beth Shully Above: (back row from left) David Sajdak, Ben Sajdak and Andy Sajdak, (front row from left) Megan Sajdak, Susan Sajdak and Jim Sajdak

Family businesses finding ways to navigate COVID-19

BY MAREDITHE MEYER, staff writer WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS outbreak hit Wisconsin and stay-at-home orders were issued earlier this year, Thiensville-based Shully’s Catering faced what had become an upended business model almost overnight.

The Shully family didn’t waste much time coming up with a new plan that would keep their 37-year-old, multi-generation business alive without in-person events as its main source of revenue.

“When everything was starting to hit the fan, we gathered on Saturday morning, put our heads together, worked through the weekend and had everything ready to roll that Monday, the day before the state’s ‘Safer at Home’ order went into place,” said general manager Jacob Shully.

The result was Shully’s new ‘Zero Contact Catering’ service, which allows customers to order prepared meals for pick-up or delivery that can be reheated and served at home. The company saw high demand for the service as one of the first contactless food delivery options in the area, and has since evolved to meet the continually changing climate around in-person gatherings. These days, delivery orders are being placed for small-scale private parties and weddings.

Scrambling to launch ‘Zero Contact Catering,’ which required the build-out of a brand new online ordering system, was no small feat. But the ability to get it done in the matter of a weekend is an advantage unique to small or family-run businesses, said Shully.

He leads the company alongside his two sisters Nina Shully-Darling and Hadley Shully, who serve as event planner and sous-chef, respectively. Their parents, owners Scott and Beth Shully, founded the company in the early 1980s and remain involved in most of the day-to-day operations.

“We’re a five-person committee, and that’s how we’ve operated in terms of decision making,” Jacob Shully said. “We don’t really have to go through layers of corporate approval, so we can really pivot quickly and get something up and running in the snap of a finger basically.”

For many local family business owners, the COVID-19 public health and subsequent economic crisis has presented a set of fears that go beyond the potential of losing a job or income. They’re also dealing with the potential loss of legacy, said David Borst, executive director and chief operating officer of the Family Business Legacy Institute.

“When you’re dealing with the stress levels of that, you’re also thinking ‘I’m changing future generations’ trajectory, too, if something doesn’t work out here,’” said Borst. “That’s something that’s in the back of a lot of these business owners’ minds.”

Amid ongoing setbacks and uncertainty, the Shullys relied on their close-knit relationship and honest dialog to navigate what has been the most stressful situation the business and the family has ever experienced, said Nina Shully-Darling.

“If someone crosses the line or whatever, there’s always an apology. That’s something our

parents instilled in us and we take our relationship very seriously,” she said.

It’s also meant working through some differing ideas between the two generations, especially when it comes to the role of technology in the future of the business and industry at large.

Shortly before COVID-19 hit, the Shully siblings had tried to convince their parents that the business would benefit from an online ordering system. The shutdown made it a necessity. And fewer in-person events over the past three months allowed the business to focus on delivery and virtual events as untapped opportunities for growth.

“Our parents kind of stayed away from dropoff because they were worried about the Shully’s experience, so not only the food, but the staff, the chef explaining the food,” she said. “But I think we’ve done well in still creating the Shully’s experience even though it’s apart.”

Despite differences among family members, there’s value in multi-generational perspectives and experience during a time of crisis. Borst said family members who have been involved for decades provide the business with a “repository of information” on surviving past hardships.

At Milwaukee-based Maglio Companies, a fifth-generation importer and distributor of fresh produce, the COVID-19 crisis has been an opportunity to live up to its title as a family business by showing concern for the health and biztimes.com / 39

Special Report FAMILY BUSINESS well-being of its employees.

“It’s not just me and him,” said Paul Maglio, director of operations, referring to his father, company president Sam Maglio. “We are a family company about family. It really is a family environment, so we have to nurture that from the top.”

For Paul Maglio, that has meant reporting to the office every day throughout the shutdown, greeting employees at the door and taking their temperatures.

Sam Maglio said it’s allowed Paul to play to his strengths – boosting morale and managing employees through a crisis.

“Paul’s meeting every employee at the door every morning, taking temperatures, asking them how they’re feeling,” Sam Maglio said. “Showing, from the top down, that there is a leadership care and concern from the family into the ranks that are working here. We’ve been open every day. We have not missed a beat.”

The path forward from the COVID-19 crisis remains clouded with uncertainty, but Milwaukee-based Stan’s Fit for Your Feet is relying on its longevity to lead the way.

“If you’ve made it through 70 years of business, you’ve been preparing for things like this your

whole life,” said Jim Sajdak, president and chief executive officer. The family-owned retailer is now in its second and third generation of leadership.

Jim’s daughter Megan and sons David, Andy and Ben all serve in director roles.

Stan’s three brick-and-mortar locations closed for two months under the “Safer at Home” order, initially forcing the company to furlough 60 employees and rely on online sales as well as curbside pick-up service.

As the stores have reopened to customers under limited capacity and employees have returned, Stan’s is balancing safety with a hands-on approach to selling shoes. The business has seen traffic increase week by week, but there’s no telling how long it will take for business to fully bounce back, said Sajdak.

Although there was no way to fully prepare for the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus pandemic, he said, the business was in good shape to react swiftly and work through whatever challenge came up.

Part of that was already having a solid succession plan in place. For years, Sajdak worked to gradually bring his four grown children into the fold.

He would bring them along to operational meet-

ings, provide mentoring and introduce them to key resources such as the business’ insurance provider, attorneys and banker.

“That all has to be in place in a very solid way for family businesses to continue,” he said. “When the stress of something like this happens, that’s a difficult time to start.”

Now, in the midst of a challenge, he is able to trust the next generation to contact the right people and make the right decisions on their own, said Megan Sajdak, director of marketing.

She said the challenges of the past four months have provided a master class in everything from applying for federal loans to navigating the emotional and mental toll of a crisis situation. That’s something she and her brothers will rely on as they take over.

“The process has equipped us with knowledge and experience to make us a stronger family business to continue moving forward,” she said.

“It’s being light on your feet, really being flexible, trying to do what’s right. I think in a world of some controversy, you have to go with your gut about what’s right – what’s right for your business, for your family, for the mission of your business and really stay true to that.” n

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Special Report FAMILY BUSINESS

Perlick moves toward fifth generation of family ownership

BY ARTHUR THOMAS, staff writer THE OWNERS OF family businesses often have several options when it comes to planning their exit from the business. Should they sell to a private equity firm? A competitor? Their employees? The next generation?

It was about a decade ago that the families behind Milwaukee-based Perlick Corp., a manufacturer of commercial-grade refrigeration, underbar and beverage dispensing equipment, had that exact discussion.

“The fifth generation expressed interest in maintaining ownership. It was a very short discussion. There was no interest in selling the business,” said Theodore “T.J.” Perlick Molinari, vice president – special projects, general counsel and lead family director of Perlick.

Fast forward several years and the company is now working to formally transition ownership to the fifth generation, of which Perlick Molinari is a part. The latest step of that process

is shifting from an advisory board to a full fiduciary board.

The initial board will have three members of the fifth generation; one member of the fourth generation, president and chief executive officer Dick Palmersheim, representing the company’s management; and two outside directors, Todd Endres, chief financial officer of Charter Manufacturing, and Jeff Schwager, president of the Sartori Co. Larry Molinari, part of the fourth generation, will assume the role of chair emeritus.

“This provides fourth generation support for members of the fifth generation in their new roles as well as a nice mix of inside and outside business perspectives,” a company announcement said. “The family members on the board Perlick Corp. makes commercial-grade refrigeration, underbar and beverage dispensing equipment.

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*Vistage CEO member companies who joined in 2006-2008 and were active members in Feb, 2010. CAGR for Vistage member companies calculated for period covering year prior to joining Vistage through 2009. CAGR for D&B U.S. companies based on 2005-2009 revenues, weighted to match Vistage company distribution per year during same period. All companies had >=$1M annual revenue, >=5 employees.

Vistage: 1,265 companies. D&B: approximately 1M U.S. companies.

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Now it is time to plan for what comes next: enjoying the substantial rewards, spending more time with your family and pursuing new challenges. It is a transition that is among the most complex in the business world — and life.

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Special Report FAMILY BUSINESS will be rotated over time to make sure the entire ownership group stays connected to the business in this very important role.”

The company plans to add at least one more outside director in the future. Schwager will serve as chair initially and help train family members to step into the role.

Perlick Molinari said work on the transition began last year and just happened to land in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Like many companies, Perlick has been hit by the fallout from the coronavirus. The company’s products are used in large event venues like Fiserv Forum along with bars and restaurants, which have either closed or severely limited operations “Coincidently, it brings a great team in fiduciary capacity on board at a very difficult time for the business. In some ways, it couldn’t have happened at a better time to make this transition because we’re bringing them into the full fiduciary capacity in a very tough economic time,” Perlick Molinari said.

The process started with finding outside board members to serve in a more advisory capacity. Perlick Molinari said the family realized it

did not have the internal capability, so it turned to Milwaukee-based director search firm Beal Associates, which delivered a slate of candidates for the family to interview.

“We wanted completely independent people and we got exactly what we asked for,” Perlick Molinari said, noting the family wanted directors who did not know each other coming in to the board roles and had no allegiance to any particular part of the family.

The search for outside advisors actually led the company to Palmersheim, who became CEO in late 2018.

“We poached him from our own advisory board to run the business,” Perlick Molinari said.

While the transition from an advisory board to a fiduciary model may put additional legal requirements on outside board members, in practice, there may be little change.

“We had always treated our advisors as though they were fiduciary members,” Perlick Molinari said. “And they have always treated their responsibilities as fiduciaries, regardless of what the title said, which we really appreciate, because advisors can take it very literally and say, ‘I’m just an advisor.’”

He said the process of figuring out the board structure for family members started with letting each individual identify their goals and how they wanted to participate in the business. It also benefitted from the fifth generation knowing each other well, growing up together and communicating regularly.

“The challenge of course is always getting a large group of people to align together around a common strategy, but certainly that challenge was much less for us as a family because we were so close and shared a lot of the same goals,” Perlick Molinari said.

He said Perlick has been intentional about defining the family values that have helped it in the past and incorporating those into operations and evaluations. The benefit for employees from that work, along with the new governance model and eventual ownership transition, is the company’s commitment to the area.

“The most important thing about this transition is it provides continuity to all the folks who work for Perlick,” Perlick Molinari said. “We’re not selling the business; we’re transitioning it to the next generation of ownership, which shares the values of previous generations.” n

A PODCAST ABOUT PEOPLE, ISSUES AND IDEAS. The BizTimes MKE Podcast is designed to keep you informed and provide ideas and strategies to help improve your business. Each episode features thought-provoking insights and best practices from business and community leaders.

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Special Report FAMILY BUSINESS

Family & Closely Held Business Summit speakers to discuss survival, growth strategies PAUL MAGLIO knew at age 12 that he was destined for his family’s fruit and vegetable business.

That hunch proved true. Today, he is director of operations at Milwaukee-based Maglio Companies, a fifth-generation family-owned importer and distributor of fresh produce, where he works with his father, company president Sam Maglio.

“I was born to do this and sell fruit to the world,” Paul Maglio said. “There is no fighting it.

I love everything from the tomatoes to the smell of the dumpster to when there are refrigeration issues on the weekend and I have to change trucks from one trailer to another to save the product. It’s everything. It’s in your blood, you can’t change it.”

Growing up, T.J. Perlick Molinari was advised not to go into the family business, but when it was time for his family to consider the transition of Milwaukee-based refrigeration supplier Perlick Corp. to the next generation, he left his career as a defense attorney to become its vice president.

“I felt there was growth potential, that the business would go somewhere,” Perlick Molinari said.

“It was a business I would’ve gone into had it not been my family business.”

Joe Kujawa built a career as an operational consultant for large companies – a role that required extensive travel – before coming home to the family’s business, Oak Creek-based landscaping and winter services firm Kujawa Enterprises, Inc. as an owner and executive vice president. Now senior practice leader with Bruce Wilson & Co., Joe Kujawa was with the family business for 17 years before it was sold to Sperber Landscape Companies in April 2019.

“I was able to have breakfast with my kids, lunch with my dad and dinner with my family for 17 years (at KEI),” he said. “That was a wonderful thing.”

Paul and Sam Maglio, Molinari and Kujawa will

46 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

discuss their family business journeys, succession plans, navigation of the COVID-19 crisis, and other challenges facing their businesses during BizTimes Media’s Family & Closely Held Business Summit on July 22. The free virtual event will also feature remarks from Greg Marcus, president and CEO of The Marcus Corp., and Tim Michels, co-owner of Michels Corp.

While 2020 has dealt its fair share of challenges to family businesses, it’s also provided ample opportunity for company leaders to lean on their family business values to guide their decision making.

“Our key to navigating the challenges of 2020 is clearly linked to the great team of people that work at the Marcus Corp.,” Greg Marcus said. “This stems directly from the culture that has been developed over 85 years. It has been consistent and is heavily influenced by the family business atmosphere that has been created over three generations. This culture attracts great people and which in turn allows us to take on the challenges that we face.”

For Brownsville, Wisconsin-based energy and infrastructure contractor Michels, work hasn’t stopped throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and the company expects a “record 2020,” Tim Michels said.

“A lot of our work involves keeping the energy on, keeping electricity flowing, keeping the internet on, the water running, and keeping transportation and infrastructure sound,” he said.

The company’s leadership structure – which includes Tim and his brothers, president and CEO Paul and vice president and CFO Joe Michels — has allowed for quick decision-making during the crisis, Tim Michels said.

“While there are a lot of cultural influences out there, we were able to stand firm in our convictions and not try to get a lot of buy-in from shareholders or a big board or be overly concerned about public

BY LAUREN ANDERSON, staff writer

Marcus

Michels

sentiment,” he said. “... Being privately-held, we’re nimble and we’re quick to make decisions and stay focused on our mission. … Once you focus on your mission, everything becomes a lot easier.”

Meanwhile, stay-at-home orders put a big dent in Perlick’s business.

“We’re in food service equipment manufacturing,” Perlick Molinari said. “All of our customers closed in March and April – large venues, live music, restaurants, hotels, convention centers, water parks. They all closed. It was devastating. It’s never happened in the history of our industry that everything closed.”

Perlick Molinari said the company prioritized preserving jobs during the downturn.

“We put together a work-share program to retain as many people as we could and provide employment for as many people as we could without putting the business out of business, which would have been a terrible end result,” he said. “That has been a result of COVID-19 – (learning how) to work together and maintain values.”

Registration for the free Family & Closely Held Business Summit is available at biztimes.com/family. Event sponsors include Davis|Kuelthau, s.c., The Riverwood Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley, National Exchange Bank & Trust, and supporting sponsor Vistage. n

FACES OF FAMILY BUSINESS

SPONSORED CONTENT

Bob Picchiottino (nephew, Vice President of Logistics), Jane Buss (wife of Terry Sr and original Office Manager), Terry Buss Sr (founder) and Terry Buss Jr. (son of Terry Sr. and President).

SUBURBAN ASPHALT CO., INC. HOW AND WHEN DID THE BUSINESS GET STARTED? Suburban Asphalt was founded on June 1, 1965 by brothers Terry Buss Sr. and Roger Buss.

Jane “Spence” Buss, Terry’s wife, paid the bills and answered the phone for the company while raising their children. The company began by purchasing two used Chevy dump trucks for $500 each, a used tractor for grading, drag paver, and a roller. Terry and Roger could always be identified when on the road because of their love for driving El Camino’s. The company grew steadily over the years with the acquisition of additional equipment, hiring of key employees and family members along the way.

WHERE DID THE PASSION FOR STARTING A BUSINESS COME FROM? Terry and Roger were entrepreneurs at a young age selling horseradish at the local area watering hole. While in high school, they worked as roofers to help pay their tuition to Pius High School. After high school, Terry Sr., the older of the two brothers, attended University of Wisconsin Milwaukee to pursue accounting.

When he was not studying, Terry continued roofing with Roger up until he had a very scary fall from a roof. Luckily, he walked away from this incident with no broken bones but was burned by tar that fell from the roof on top of him. It was at that moment that Terry and Roger began to realize that maybe it was better to still work hard but to do it while on the ground.

WHAT SERVICES DOES THE COMPANY OFFER? Suburban Asphalt is a true family business with many family connections throughout. Suburban Asphalt has expanded its services beyond asphalt paving to include grading, excavation, sealcoating, striping, concrete flatwork & curbing, storm sewer, drain tile, landscaping, and snowplowing. Suburban Asphalt is also very active within the community supporting local area youth groups, churches, schools, and organizations such as Make-A-Wish WI as well as many others.

WHAT FAMILY MEMBERS ARE CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN THE BUSINESS? Terry and Roger have since retired after very impressive careers in the asphalt industry.

Suburban Asphalt is now proud to be called a second-generation family owned & operated business with future plans to expand even further under the leadership of Terry Buss Jr. who has 36 years of experience with the company and Bob Picchiottino, Roger’s nephew, who has 47 years with the company.

11251 W Forest Home Ave Franklin, WI 53132 (414) 425-5353 suburbanasphalt.com

Strategies SALES

ing exceptions are absolutely necessary, have pricing guidelines for discounting non-sensitive items instead of using blanket percent discounts.

Is your price right?

Tips for pricing strategy TODAY’S SUCCESSFUL businesses hold quarterly strategic pricing meetings that are separate from sales meetings.

Pricing meetings focus on net profitability.

Doug Butdorf, a senior pricing consultant for Boost Pricing, recently presented to my Vistage chief executive board. I felt inspired to share his message. Here are five profitable pricing strategies to consider.

1. Understand the numbers.

Have you trained your staff to understand how pricing affects profitability? An educated team recognizes that a 1% price increase leads to a 10% or 20% net profit increase or more. This is a bigger impact than a 1% improvement in sales volume growth or 1% cost reduction. Yet pricing gets the least attention and is least understood.

2. Know the pricing psychology.

A common self-limiting belief for price reduction is the fear of customers walking away unless you offer a discount. Boost Pricing says that’s a phantom fear, and sellers are losing substantial profit because customers behave as customers do (get discounts wherever possible).

Do you believe in your product? Do you solve real problems for your customers? Do you provide the best quality? Do you exceed customer expectations? If yes, then you don’t need to discount out of fear.

A pricing strategy based on confidence in the product and the company’s added value reduces fear-driven discounting. When discount48 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

3. Recognize that requests to negotiate are a buying signal.

When you exceed your customers’ expectations and make their businesses or lives even better, you can charge a premium price. Before automatically lowering prices as a response to discounting pressures, first try to assess the customer’s actions.

One example of a negotiating tactic includes a request to match your price with that of another company. What does this indicate? Any customer negotiation tactic is actually a buying signal.

Customers, like all humans, are notoriously interested in themselves. They don’t waste time asking for a better deal if they have absolutely no interest in buying from you. Asking indicates you have some power, including pricing power, when the customer beats you up on price. Some sales people’s brains short circuit when under pricing pressure. Instead, try this. Pause. Ask more questions to consider other options. And operate from confidence rather than fear.

them to customers. A few options include: » Increase the product price. » Add a specific line on the invoice. » Boost recommends that if you decide to give the specific line item away for free, you should create a subsequent credit line below it called, for example, “Service Waived for Long-Term Partnership” that removes the fee. Those options show customers your fees and create future tracking measurements.

New pricing strategies extend beyond traditional sale objectives. Which of these strategies and tactics resonate with you? Why? What will you commit to doing? n

4. Analyze your customers and sales staff.

How often does your pricing team regularly analyze your customers based on sales revenue and margins? High margins/high sales customers are great. High margins/low sales customers are good. Low margins/high sales customers are OK. But evaluate keeping low margins/low sales customers. Similarly, analyze the sales team profitability as it aligns to the company’s goals.

5. Remember that freebies add up quickly.

When was the last time you listed all the services or products you gave away for free? These internal expenses or pass-through items are not sold but incur as expenses. The exhaustive list includes freight, rush charges, no-show fees, disposal fees and COVID surcharges.

Once your pricing team categorizes them as acceptable or not, decide how to communicate

LIZA L e CLAIRE Liza LeClaire was COO of Wheel and Sprocket from 1997-2015, and has taught MBA classes since 2017. She leads an executive board for Vistage Worldwide, Inc., a professional development group for CEOs, presidents and business owners. She can be reached at LizaLeClaireConsulting@gmail.com.

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Strategies COACHING

How are you doing?

Incorporating self-care routines during COVID-19 WITH THE DISRUPTION in daily routines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, it is a critical time to get back on track with extreme self-care.

I’ve talked to many people over the past couple of months who are still floundering as they wait for things to settle down and get back to normal.

Gyms slow to open, kids at home, activities canceled, pandemic fatigue setting in, workfrom-home scenarios being extended … and routines have remained off track.

During the pandemic, leaders are looking for ways to energize and engage their teams. They also want employees to know they are cared about.

More recently, we’ve spent time talking with leaders about extreme self-care, both for themselves and their employees. It is important that everyone shows up at work – both at the office and at home – as their very best self. It is a responsibility, one that is too often left to chance.

How are you doing? Are you prioritizing goals, achievements and deadlines? Do you need to be more intentional about your overall wellbeing? When is the last time you gave up your workout time because of your to-do list?

Are you dedicating time on your virtual team check-in calls to find out what your team members are doing to stay positive, healthy and strong?

I encourage you to incorporate extreme selfcare into your life.

50 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

Self-care is not about massages, manicures and yoga. While these can be part of your self-care routine, self-care is about prioritizing yourself in the midst of too many demands. It is about being proactive to avoid or reduce your exhaustion.

Below are some ideas to get you started: » Commit to seven or eight hours of sleep each night. When your to-do list and work schedule dictate how you spend your day, it’s tempting to work late or treat yourself to some late-night TV-binging as a means of taking back control of your day. Getting a healthy amount of sleep will help you remain mentally fresh, efficient and in a better mood. » Drink water. Studies show that you lose about 1 liter of water when you sleep. To get off to a great start, put a glass of water on your nightstand before you go to sleep.

When you wake up, start your day off with eight ounces of water. This will help you wake up and rehydrate your body. » Exercise. People who are most consistent with their workouts are those who work out in the morning. Your workout does not have to be an hour. It can be 15 – 30 minutes. There are plenty of fitness apps available to help you develop a routine and keep you accountable and motivated. » Join the 5 a.m. club. Do you see how many things are tied to getting to bed early? Here is another one. Wake up early enough to have your own uninterrupted time. During these hours, you can read a chapter of a book, capture a few thoughts in a journal, spend some time meditating, or gather your thoughts for the day. After just a few days of this, you’ll be surprised at how much more energy and mental clarity you have throughout the day. » Establish boundaries. I’ve seen it too many times, and I’ve had to overcome this struggle in my life as well. We prioritize work over family and wellbeing. The hours are extreme. We say yes to deadlines and no to ourselves. While I’m not advising that you become irresponsible in meeting the

needs of your employer, I am advising that you are conscious about the manner in which your work schedule swallows you up. Avoid the temptation to check email in the evenings. You may even want to put your phone on do-not-disturb and place it in another room when you are relaxing and spending time with your family.

This list is a fraction of what you can consider. Your team members can inspire and motivate one another. Start the conversation.

One final tip: As you think about what you can incorporate into your day, you may need to create a list of ‘stop-doing’ activities to make room for the good stuff. n

ALETA NORRIS Aleta Norris is principal and co-founder of Brookfield-based Living As A Leader, a leadership training, coaching and consulting firm. You may send questions to her at anorris@livingasaleader.com.

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COURAGEOUSLY LEADING THROUGH 2020 Join us on August 19th as we kick off the 16th annual virtual BizExpo. BizTimes podcast partner and contributing columnist Beth Ridley will lead a discussion with several of the region’s top business and community leaders on being courageous, growing and forging a new path during this challenging time.

You’ll hear various perspectives from our panelists about topics on resiliency, inclusion, having a growth mindset and being curious and courageous related to the COVID pandemic, the new normal and business going forward, race issues and more.

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Panelists: Julie Granger, Executive Vice President, MMAC (1) Nadiya Johnson, Technical Product Manager, GE Healthcare, Founder, Jet Constellations (2) Gina Stilp, Executive Director, Zilber Family Foundation (3) Denise Thomas, President, The Effective Communication Coach (4)

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Strategies UNEMPLOYMENT

How to handle unemployment Stay the course while seeking a new job IT IS 6 O’CLOCK in the morning and you wake up ready to go to work, but yesterday you were let go by your employer. You have no position.

It has been years since you were not fully employed. You are scared, anxious, uncertain as to how long you will be unemployed. You have no idea where to start on your journey to a new position or career.

Who do I talk to, what do I do?

Your reaction is normal, the anxiety you feel is a basic sensory reaction or warning system to something the brain believes could be harmful.

Anytime we feel our life is not within our control, we become anxious. It could be a loud noise at night, walking into a social situation alone, or being unable to find employment and we feel anxious due to the loss of control.

You can and should take control of this situation so you can again find employment. But, in order to “stay the course” you need to follow some simple steps that will help you maintain your motivation and self-esteem. I have researched numerous sources and discovered strategies that have been successful in helping unemployed individuals maintain the course while they search for their next challenge. Permit me to summarize some of these strategies for you.

1. Stay active in your search. Your new fulltime job is to find a new position. Now is the time to light up your network, connect with people you know from your past position and social interactions. Let them know you are in the market 52 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

for a new position. Set up calls or meetings and ask for referrals to someone who might help you with your search.

2. Maintain a schedule. Keep your normal routine as you did when you were employed.

Don’t sleep in or stay up late. As stated above, your new full-time job is to find a new position. Plan out your day to include networking appointments, online postings and searches, career counseling (workforce development and outplacement if supplied by your past employer) and other activities that support your search.

3. Get in the process. Prepare yourself for the new interviewing process. Know that things have changed since you last looked for a job. Develop a LinkedIn profile detailing your skills and experience, including your volunteer activity.

Submit your resume to online services like Indeed and others. When contacted by a recruiter or potential employer, be ready with an updated resume. Be open to new challenges and a possible change in your career path.

4. Volunteer your services. Get active in your church or connect with a local service organization that interests you. Many nonprofits need volunteers and it is a great way to meet and connect with new people. It is another form of “networking” and it builds your self-esteem, your skill sets and self-worth. As human beings we need to be connected to others.

5. Get in shape. Take this opportunity to do something for yourself. Exercise is a great way to ward off and deal with anxiety. Eat right and make sure you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Physical health supports your mental health.

If you are feeling depressed, notice a change in eating or sleeping habits, and if the depression worsens, seek immediate help from a mental health professional.

6. Join a support group. Many churches and nonprofits have support groups for the unemployed. Forty-plus, an adult support group, exists in many cities throughout the country. By checking in with your local workforce development office, you may find a support group near your home. Contact them and attend one of their meetings. You may find that you share the same

challenges and can learn from their experiences.

7. Be accountable. Set up a “board of directors” made up of friends and associates to keep each other accountable for their job search activities and to practice interviewing skills. Mock interviews help you prepare and gain confidence.

Being accountable to others keeps your feet on the path to landing a new position.

You need to accept the fact that during this period of uncertainty you will be anxious, and it is OK. You are not alone. Participating in a support group, job fair and other networking activities exposes you to others who are on the same journey. Look at each interview as an opportunity to learn more about yourself and the opportunities that exist. Ask for feedback from others and continue to learn and grow. The right position is out there, and you need to be ready both physically and mentally for it. n

CARY SILVERSTEIN Cary Silverstein, MBA, is a speaker, author and consultant, a former executive for Gimbel’s Midwest and JH Collectibles, and a former professor for DeVry University’s Keller Graduate School. He can be reached at csilve1013@aol.com

Tip Sheet Lessons for growing a diverse and inclusive culture

I

n a series of five episodes, BizTimes MKE podcast partner Beth Ridley of The Brimful Life held interviews with area diversity and inclusion leaders and drew from her own experience to explore how companies can improve their D&I efforts. The lessons from those conversations include:

Define what diversity means.

Ridley asked each of her guests how their companies define diversity and pointed out how much the word encompasses. For a multinational company like ManpowerGroup, global diversity officer Chris Rowland said it sets broad goals around universal issues like gender, but then operations in each country define what matters to their part of the business.

Get leadership commitment.

“It absolutely starts at the top with leadership, can’t be delegated, can’t be put off,” Rowland said. “There has to be an understanding that it’s a business imperative, not just an ethical imperative.”

Leaders should start with their own personal learning, said Erickajoy Daniels, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Advocate Aurora Health. “It’s not hard work, but it can get to a place where you have to be comfortable having

uncomfortable conversations,” she said.

Go beyond hiring targets.

While it is important to have metrics, particularly those defined by the company’s goals, Grady Crosby, chief diversity officer at Johnson Controls, cautioned against only looking at hiring and representation.

“You can hire your way to diversity, but you can’t hire your way to inclusivity,” he said. “You really have to have both to be successful.”

Being more inclusive can be as simple as a name change, said DeVona Wright Cottrell, associate general counsel and director at Baird.

The financial services company’s multicultural employee resource group, which she helped lead, saw membership grow after switching the name from “African-American Associate Resource Group” to “Prism.”

Listen to the podcast episodes at biztimes. com/podcast. n

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Show them off in BizTimes’ new BizUpdates section.

Submit your company news at biztimes.com/bizconnect 54 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

BIZ PEOPLE

Advertising Section: New Hires, Promotions, Accolades and Board Appointments

ENGINEERING Stephen Burk joined HGA as National Engineering Business Developer in Minneapolis. He will focus on building client relations and new business opportunities aligned with the firm’s multidisciplinary engineering and energy & infrastructure expertise.

LEGAL SERVICES Attorney Devin S. Hayes has been promoted to shareholder at von Briesen & Roper, s.c. Hayes is a shareholder in the Milwaukee office. His practice focuses on discrimination defense, FMLA defense, wage and hour defense, class/collective actions, OSHA defense and employment litigation. He received a J.D. from Marquette University.

MANUFACTURING Spancrete has announced the promotion of Erik Varnadoe to Vice President of Precast Operations. With the company since 2019, he will be responsible for and manage all precast operations for the organization.

MARKETING Rebecca Priebe-Roob has joined VJS as a Marketing + Creative Services Manager. In her new position with VJS, Rebecca will be responsible for helping manage the large array and number of marketing projects received, along with ensuring quality and branding standards are met.

TECHNOLOGY Carly Kroll joins New Resources Consulting as Director of Education. She will drive the creation and delivery of education initiatives for NRC clients, support local and national technical communities, and facilitate communication of industry and technology best practices through events, blogs, articles, and media.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Findorff is pleased to introduce John Ferguson as the latest addition to the Milwaukeearea team. As Business Development Director Southeast Wisconsin, John will focus on serving the company’s south-eastern and south-central market.

LEGAL SERVICES Attorney Jacob M. Bibis has been promoted to shareholder at von Briesen & Roper, s.c. Bibis is a shareholder in the Milwaukee office. His practice focuses on toxic tort, insurance coverage and general litigation matters. Bibis is recognized as a Rising StarSM by Wisconsin Super Lawyers®. He received a J.D. from Marquette University.

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BizConnections VOLUME 26, NUMBER 6 | JUL 20, 2020

GLANCE AT YESTERYEAR

126 N. Jefferson St., Suite 403, Milwaukee, WI 53202-6120 PHONE: 414-277-8181 FAX: 414-277-8191 WEBSITE: www.biztimes.com CIRCULATION: 414-336-7100 | circulation@biztimes.com ADVERTISING: 414-336-7112 | advertising@biztimes.com EDITORIAL: 414-336-7120 | andrew.weiland@biztimes.com REPRINTS: 414-336-7100 | reprints@biztimes.com

PUBLISHER / OWNER Dan Meyer dan.meyer@biztimes.com

SALES & MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Mary Ernst mary.ernst@biztimes.com COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / OWNER Kate Meyer kate.meyer@biztimes.com

EDITORIAL EDITOR Andrew Weiland andrew.weiland@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lauren Anderson lauren.anderson@biztimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Arthur Thomas arthur.thomas@biztimes.com REPORTER Brandon Anderegg brandon.anderegg@biztimes.com

Expansion of St. Luke’s Hospital This June 1957 photo shows work on the eighth floor of an addition to St. Luke’s Hospital at 2900 W. Oklahoma Ave. in Milwaukee. The land for the hospital was originally acquired in 1941 but construction did not begin until 1950 because of World War II restrictions and material shortages. Two additional wings were completed in 1957 and 1958, leading to the sale of the original St. Luke’s Hospital near Madison Street and what is now South 3rd Street to Allen-Bradley. That building was razed in 1958, according to Aurora Health Care.

— Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Public Library

COMMENTARY

DNC should return to Milwaukee in 2024 THE DECISION to dramatically scale down the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee into a mostly virtual event broadcast live from here and other locations across the country was extremely disappointing, but certainly not surprising.

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in America, each day it became increasingly clear that the DNC Milwaukee thought it was getting was not going to occur. The virus continues to spread throughout the United States, spiking in several states, including Wisconsin. There is no way bringing tens of thousands of people from across the country to gather in one place in close proximity was going to receive the blessing from public health officials and experts.

Postponing the event from July to August only delayed the inevitable.

So, DNC organizers had no choice but to dramatically alter plans for the 2020 convention.

56 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

Joe Biden is still expected to come to Milwaukee to accept the nomination as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, but it’s unclear who else will be here. All indications are that very few will be coming. State delegations have been told to stay home and the event will be held at the Wisconsin Center instead of Fiserv Forum.

That is a huge contrast to what was anticipated. The DNC was originally expected to bring 50,000 visitors to Milwaukee and make a $200 million economic impact on the region.

Even more significant is the national and international media attention and prestige that Milwaukee is missing out on. Hosting a major political party’s convention is a once-ina-lifetime opportunity for a city of Milwaukee’s size. It was a chance for Milwaukee to make a statement to the world about its revitalization and what makes this a great place to live, work and play. Yes, Milwaukee’s flaws would have been on full display as well, but the attention from the DNC would have put Milwaukee on the map as a major city unlike any event has in its history.

Simply put, the fact that the DNC in Milwaukee will be but a shell of what we were anticipating is absolutely devastating to this

REPORTER Maredithe Meyer maredithe.meyer@biztimes.com

DIRECTOR OF SALES Linda Crawford linda.crawford@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Paddy Kieckhefer paddy.kieckhefer@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Maggie Pinnt maggie.pinnt@biztimes.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Christie Ubl christie.ubl@biztimes.com INSIDE SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Dylan Dobson dylan.dobson@biztimes.com SALES ADMINISTRATOR Meggan Hau meggan.hau@biztimes.com

ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Sue Herzog sue.herzog@biztimes.com

PRODUCTION & DESIGN

REPORTER Alex Zank alex.zank@biztimes.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alex Schneider alex.schneider@biztimes.com ART DIRECTOR Shelly Tabor shelly.tabor@biztimes.com

Independent & Locally Owned — Founded 1995 —

community.

So now what? Certainly, the DNC is focused on pulling off a virtual convention and on backing the Biden campaign.

But what about Milwaukee? Gary Witt, the chief executive officer of Pabst Theater Group, was perhaps the first prominent local individual to publicly state that the DNC should return to Milwaukee in 2024. That really is the only way to make up for this lost opportunity for the city.

The city’s preparations for the 2020 DNC would give it a great head start in planning for 2024. The political dynamics that made Milwaukee so attractive for the convention, including Wisconsin’s status as a swing state and the Democratic Party’s need to connect with the Heartland of America, will still be the case in 2024.

The DNC needs to come back to Milwaukee in 2024. Make that announcement ASAP. n

ANDREW WEILAND EDITOR

P / 414-336-7120 E / andrew.weiland@biztimes.com T / @AndrewWeiland

NONPROFIT KATHY’S HOUSE BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW HOSPITAL GUEST HOUSE Kathy’s House leaders and supporters recently celebrated the start of construction for the organization’s new hospital guest house in Wauwatosa.

The new Kathy’s House is being built on a 3.6-acre site on Doyne Avenue between North 92nd and North 87th Streets, adjacent to the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center.

A capital campaign supporting the new house has raised $10 million of the $12 million goal.

Froedtert Hospital provided the lead pledge of $6 million in 2017.

Other significant gifts have come from the Fotsch Family Foun-

dation, Ladish Co. Foundation, Schneider Company and longtime Brookfield residents Ginny and Mike McBride.

The nonprofit hospital guest house serves out-of-town patients and their families who come to Milwaukee for medical care. The organization has been operating at capacity in recent years, and over the past two years has had to turn away more than 1,000 guests because of a lack of rooms.

The new building will double the capacity of Kathy’s House’s current 18-room facility at 600 N. 103rd St., which it rents from St. Camillus Health Center.

— Lauren Anderson

nonprofit

SPOTLIGHT

OUR HARMONY CLUB

c alendar

P.O. Box 427, Sturtevant 262-880-5301 | ourharmonyclub.org Facebook: facebook.com/Ourharmonyclub Instagram: @OurHarmonyClub

Year founded: 2015 Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee will hold its annual meeting in a hybrid format on Friday, Aug. 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event will feature HPGM’s scholarship winners and a panel with its leadership award winners. More information is available at hpgm.org St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care will host its 16th annual Dream Together Gala on Friday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. The event will be virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and aims to raise $230,000.

Part of the proceeds will support the center as it recovers from the financial toll of a three-month closure. The gala will be available to stream, free of charge, at stanncenter.org/gala.

D O N AT I O N R O U N D U P Milwaukee-based Islands of Brilliance received a $25,000 grant from Autism Speaks and a $10,000 grant from Adobe, Inc. | The Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation awarded a first-year $62,500 grant to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation for its CAR-T therapy research. It also awarded a one-time $26,364 grant to Aurora Research Institute’s Team Phoenix project. | The Green Bay Packers Give Back Corporate Giving Program awarded $10,000 to Neu-Life Community Development through its COVID-19 Community Relief Fund. | North Shore Bank awarded four Milwaukee-area nonprofits with $5,000 each in COVID-19 relief program grant funding. They include United Community Center, Legacy Redevelopment Corporation, African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin and La Casa de Esperanza. | Wangard Partners, Inc. donated 1,000 face shields to ProHealth Care to address the need for PPE among caregivers.

Mission statement: We care for and about each other by supporting caregivers and the elderly individuals they are caring for. We are volunteerbased and promote and enhance the quality of life for all.

Primary focus of your nonprofit organization: We offer respite to caregivers in the community through affordable alternative care.

We provide six hours of fun and friendship to families for only $35 a day, allowing caregivers to rest while we care for their loved one so they can refuel, allowing them to be a better caregiver.

Other focuses of your nonprofit organization: We also focus on involving more of the community through many different volunteer opportunities. As of now we are 96% volunteer-based. There are a lot of people who want to help and to share time with these wonderful elderly individuals who often times are socially isolated and have very little opportunity to be amongst others like them and engaged in a social setting.

Executive leadership: Dawn Vlach, director Board of directors: » » » » » » » »

Dawn Vlach, president Edwin Raymond, vice president David Miller, treasurer Martine Albritton Suzanne Pettit Barb Sumpter Sydney Prochazka John Brensinger

Is your organization actively seeking board members for the upcoming term? Yes. What roles are you looking to fill?

Assistance with grant writing.

Ways the business community can help your nonprofit: Donations, including dish soap, flushable wipes, hand sanitizer, Kleenex, paper towel, large latex gloves, half-and-half coffee, letter envelopes, small return envelopes, copy paper, 8-ounce cups, dinner napkins, large paper plates, small plates, creamer, snacksized chips, small candy bars.

Key fundraising events: We have a quarterly cribbage tournament.

Number of employees at this location: Four

biztimes.com / 57

ANDREW FELLER PHOTOGRAPHY

BizConnections

5 MINUTES WITH…

NADIYAH JOHNSON Founder and CEO, Jet Constellations

NADIYAH JOHNSON, founder and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based software company Jet Constellations, has partnered with New York-based information and technology services company IP Zone Co. to launch a $50 million venture capital fund. The new fund will focus on providing capital to early-stage tech companies with an emphasis on attracting startups led by people of color to Milwaukee.

Johnson, who is also a technical product manager at GE Healthcare, runs The Milkyway Tech Hub, a social impact arm of Jet Constellations that aims to transform Milwaukee into a tech hub representing the city’s diverse population.

CHALLENGES IN RAISING $50 MILLION “As it relates to capital, I understand the barriers and the challenges that present themselves. As a black woman in STEM and computer science, I think this is why I have a unique perspective. I’ve faced some pretty rough statistics already. … The statistics that we face with this fund, it’s not the scariest to me because I’ve beat the odds, to say the least. Here I am in another space where I think I have the opportunity to in fact lead by example. We say that we want capital and we say that we want to make sure that capital commits to people of color, then why not be the one to launch it?”

58 / BizTimes Milwaukee JUL 20, 2020

ON POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIPS IN MILWAUKEE “I want this tech fund to benefit and advance not only the tech industry and make an impact in increasing the amount of capital that is deployed to black and brown owners, but I also want to make a significant impact here in the city of Milwaukee. Those we invest in we’re encouraging and will ensure that they are either relocating here or are contributing back to the tech ecosystem in some way, shape or form that will make a significant impact. Given that, I can’t just get investors from different parts of the country. Milwaukee has to be onboard with making this impact. There’s no better time to make a statement backing black people than right now in this point in history where I think that many people are now realizing this needs to happen.”

CHALLENGES IN MILWAUKEE’S VENTURE CAPITAL ECOSYSTEM “I definitely think there’s enough capital here and I definitely think there’s enough power and brilliance here that can make this happen if they truly want it to. One of the biggest barriers that has plagued Milwaukee from progressing in this space is excuses and this fund removes that excuse. If you’re looking for a reason to support black people in tech, create socioeconomic change in Milwaukee, here’s your chance.” n

Call for Nominations!

PRESENTS:

Nominate Today!

2020 2020 Awards Categories Corporate Citizenship Awards CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP BizTimes Media presents the seventh annual awards program to salute southeastern Wisconsin’s best corporate citizens and most effective nonprofit organizations.

• Corporate Citizen of the Year • Next Generation Leadership • In-Kind Supporter • Corporate Volunteer of the Year • Lifetime Achievement

The awards will shine a light on excellence in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. The recipients of the awards will be saluted on November 6th, 2020.

Nonprofit Organizations, Leadership & Support Team Awards

Nominate the people and for-profit organizations who are making a positive difference in the community by donating their time, talent and treasure. Nominate the nonprofit organizations that are making the region a better place to live, work and play. Self-nominations also are encouraged!

• Nonprofit Executive of the Year

• Nonprofit organization of the year (Small & Large Categories) • Nonprofit Collaboration of the year award • Social Enterprise

Submit your nomination at biztimes.com/npawards GOLD SPONSOR:

Nomination deadline: September 11, 2020 Event date: November 6, 2020

SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN HAS PLANS. FIRST MIDWEST BANK HAS IDEAS.

At Park Bank, we know the business market, because we helped shape it for more than 100 years. This commitment to local leadership and decision making will continue as we become part of First Midwest Bank, creating greater resources, products and services.

If you have plans to grow your business, we have ideas to help. Give us a call.

David P. Werner Market President 414.270.3231