Price check Higher education had issues before the pandemic. Page 32
Brand builder
Meaningful change
Bev Ryan has watched the city evolve—and pushed it along.
What business leaders can do right now to fight racism.
Page 8
Page 28
July 2020
Dionte’ Johnson at Sole Classics
Open-hearted $4.99
July 2020 07
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Dionte’ Johnson is a coach and mentor—and his Short North boutique is not what comes first for him. Black youth do. Page 24
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Contents
Photo by JEFFRY KONCZAL
An employee rally at Nationwide in support of racial equity.
24
calls for CHANGE A Short North shop owner says we should be supporting our Black youth; and business leaders lay out plans to work toward equity.
28 Community’s loud and clear voice Black business owners and the leaders of large enterprises say act now.
32 The crumbling ivory tower Photo by ROB HARDIN
32
Otterbein’s John Comerford says college should be affordable for everyone.
JULY 2020 Cover photo by
Rob Hardin July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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Departments 62 E. Broad St., P.O. Box 1289 Columbus, Ohio 43216 Phone: 614-540-8900 • Fax: 614-461-8746
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VOLUME 29 / NUMBER 7 Columbus Site Manager
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Ray Paprocki
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Rheta Gallagher Editorial EDITOR
05 Editor’s Note 2020 is full of surprises, in all the right and wrong ways.
49 Leaderboards Central Ohio law firms and commercial mortgage lenders
56 Office Space NAI Ohio Equities tells its story with its office overhaul.
Katy Smith
Insider
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07 Breakdown The data: Black and brown businesses have fared worse during the pandemic.
08 Profile: Brand master
Angela Meleca lends her voice to support the arts.
12 Tech Talk
Northwoods eases the paper crunch for social workers.
Healthy Roster’s technology helps make companies “SAFER.”
18 Spotlight: Small Business
Associate photo editor
Cheesecake baker makes sweet change during pandemic.
Rob Hardin Advertising
ADVERTISING Manager
Susan Kendall
18
Chef David Brooks
CLASSIFIED SALES
22 Spotlight: Innovation
In-Depth 36 Diversity Law firm strives to help its LGBTQ attorneys succeed.
38 Personal Finance Experts offer five ideas on wise investing even in times like these.
Terri Tribbie, Telana Veil, Amy Vidrick Digital Specialist
Steven Mace
40 Health Watch
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Nursing homes tackle the Covid-19 challenges faced by their residents with Alzheimer’s disease.
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Columbus CEO (ISSN 1085-911X) is published monthly by Gannett. All contents of this magazine are copyrighted © Gannett Co., Inc. 2020, all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited materials. Known address of publication is 62 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio 43215. Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Senzd address changes to Columbus CEO, 62 E. Broad St., P.O. Box 1289, Columbus, OH 43216.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
20 Spotlight: Nonprofit
Bev Ryan has built Ologie into a powerhouse for higher education— and for Columbus.
PHOTO EDITOR
Tim Johnson
Bev Ryan
Photos by Rob Hardin
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital experts break down how the global pandemic is affecting commercial real estate sectors in Central Ohio and beyond. Page 43
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Editor’s Notes * ksmith@ColumbusCEO.com
The story in someone else’s shoes Dionte’ Johnson
Photo by Rob Hardin
I
tell people all the time that I love surprises. Not knowing what will happen next keeps life interesting—I suppose that’s why I got into the news business in the first place. But the surprises of 2020 are whoppers. Who would have guessed we would be wearing homemade facemasks? Or that giant corporations would run smoothly even with all their employees working from home? Or that the U.S. Supreme Court would finally give LGBTQ workers the protections they deserve in an opinion written by its most conservative justice? Who would have guessed big businesses would come out vocally in support of Black Lives Matter? That our streets would be filled with protestors for weeks? That our public institutions would take down the statues of Christopher Columbus after decades of unheard requests that we stop honoring the racist icons of the past who brought pain and destruction to the indigenous peoples of America? Who would have guessed an intern would write the cover story for this issue?
She did. Tatyana Tandanpolie, who graduated from Pickerington High School North, is a rising junior at New York University, where she double majors in journalism and Africana studies. The first time I met her was on a Zoom call to plan the July issue, where I asked: How do we make race and equality front and center in the magazine, like it is for so many local businesses right now? Tandanpolie emailed me after the meeting with an essay Dionte’ Johnson published online, telling the story of how his Short North shoe
Photo by LAURA MEASHER
Writer Tatyana Tandanpolie, a Columbus CEO intern from New York University majoring in journalism and Africana studies, wrote this month’s cover feature. Here is what she had to say about her experience: Having the opportunity to tell Dionte’ Johnson’s story was an honor for me, especially as an intern. While we were forced to meet over Zoom because of the pandemic, the conversation we had about his life growing up in Columbus, his love for his family and his Eastmoor Warriors players, and his dedication to his community inspired me in
so many ways. Though I originally approached the story from a different angle, after speaking with his friends and mentees Miicah Coleman and Dan Dover, I realized that Johnson’s story is as much about giving back and looking to one’s community for mutual liberation in the face of oppression as it is about a Black business
owner who’s made light out of personal tragedy during a global pandemic and the continuing onslaught of anti-Black police violence. It was important to me to ensure that I imparted each facet of his story in this piece, doing him and his community justice. –Tatyana Tandanpolie
boutique, Sole Classics, was looted the night of May 29 as the neighborhood was filled with clashes between demonstrators and Columbus police. She wasn’t thinking she would be the one to write a story, but when I asked, she said yes. I’m so glad she did. Tandanpolie drops the reader straight down into the chaos of that night, the emotion, and what it was like for Johnson as he swept up broken glass in his store. What it was like for Johnson, who is a football coach at Eastmoor, as he thought about the Black youth he mentors. The Black youth he was not so very long ago. Empathy is the most undervalued trait in business, and possibly in our society, right now. I hope Johnson’s story, and the powerful voices of Black business owners in a related feature about what we can do now to advance racial equality, take you to a place you have never been, even though it might be painful and uncomfortable. The time to understand, to act, to be different, is way past due.
Katy Smith, Editor July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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Breakdown Compiled by katy smith + Infographic by Yogesh Chaudhary
Pandemic hurts minority businesses the most
As small businesses shuttered during the beginning of the coronavirus crisis this spring, those owned by women, immigrants and people of color experienced significantly more difficulty, especially African Americans. Below are the results of a study done for the National Bureau of Economic Research by economics researcher Robert Fairlie at University of California at Santa Cruz. Fairlie examined how the number of business owners from various ethnic groups dropped from February to April using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey. “These findings of early-stage losses to small businesses have important policy implications and may portend longer-term ramifications for job losses and economic inequality,” Fairlie wrote.
Number of active business owners in the United States
22%
Asian business owners
26%
Women business owners
25%
Latinx business owners Immigrant business owners BlackAmerican business owners
32%
36%
41%
Source: National Bureau of Economic Research
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profile By Katy Smith + Photos by rob hardin
Bev Ryan Founder
Ologie Age: 55 In position since: 1987 Education: Graphic design student,
Columbus College of Art & Design, honorary doctorate 2012
Community involvement: Board of trustees, Columbus College of Art & Design, 2007-16; former board member Wellington School and Women’s Fund of Central Ohio. Ryan is the 2019 recipient of Columbus College of Art & Design’s Spirit of Denny Griffith Award. Personal: Lives in Grandview with her
husband Scott and has a son, Guy.
Brand builder Bev Ryan has created one of the city’s most vibrant creative firms, and watched—and contributed—as Columbus has grown up. She grew up with it.
W
alking into Bev Ryan’s office at Ologie, the space hits you all washed pink light. A corkboard wall offers glimpses into what she’s been thinking lately—arty clips from magazines, ruminations on the state of the world, an image of her son when he was small. On her desk sits a photo of an intense young woman—her—with her jaw set in determination. It’s there to remind Ryan of why she started all this. When she founded creative firm
Ologie in 1987, Ryan had nothing but her curiosity, her sense for design and that attitude. “I was a young woman and it was 1987. There were no loans—I didn’t even think about it. It didn’t even occur to me,” she says. She set up shop in an office in a century home on Jefferson Avenue off East Broad Street, where nonprofits had already begun to coalesce into a neighborhood of sorts. BalletMet, Thurber House, Council on World Affairs, ProMusica. “There were fledgling nonprofits, and I was a pretty good deal for them. It was $50 for this, and $100 for that, and my rent was $345 a month,” she says. “I didn’t even get a Mac until my second or third year in business (and it cost her a staggering $4,000). I was pasting things up—people don’t even know what that is here [today, at Ologie]. So I don’t talk about it much anymore because it makes me seem old.” Ryan, at 55, is far from it. She watched Columbus grow up right along with her. The Westland High School grad spent the Saturday mornings of her childhood in community art classes at the Columbus College of Art & Design, and she went on to the graphic design program there. In the early days of her business, which originally was called Method, as she did work for those nonprofits, board members started to take notice. “They were running businesses in Columbus or higher up at bigger businesses, and they said, who’s doing this work? It’s really good.” Her clients grew beyond nonprofits—many of them influential commercial real estate developers: Frank Kass, Ron Pizzuti, Don Casto, Continental Office, The Limited. She did all the marketing for Pizzuti’s Miranova and its growing portfolio of warehouses south of the city. “They were intense,” she says. “They were moving and shaking and moving mountains in Columbus. They were building Columbus, literally building Columbus at that time. And they still are.” To do business with the city’s power set was a challenge that stoked
Ryan’s drive to succeed, but she’s not a person who gets to that point and cashes out. “Sometimes, I used to drive 670 and I would look at the downtown skyline. And in my head, with that chip on my shoulder, I’d say I can do this,” Ryan says. “For some reason the Columbus skyline represented making it, you know, like I can make a business here and be successful. I can do this. The skyline back then was pretty to me—it’s amazingly pretty now. But you’ve never really arrived, right? Because everything is shifting sands under your feet. You can never sit down.” That restless disposition—that continual search for what’s next, to see new angles—manifests itself physically in Ryan’s office, which
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Q&A
Bev Ryan built her branding and marketing firm during the years Columbus was growing up. Here are her thoughts on her city and her industry.
A group of fledgling nonprofits and real estate entrepreneurs cut you your first breaks, hiring you early in your business. What was that like? I’m grateful and I’m flabbergasted that they gave me all those opportunities. I just felt like those leaders in Columbus were trying to give someone a chance. I love that. I mean, I had to deliver. But I did. I worked really hard. And as years went by, I looked back on it and thought, what were they thinking? On the thought of ever selling Ologie: I think about it being really strategic. So to me, it’s so much more than a monetary exchange. Both parties have to really benefit—it has to make sense. It can’t just be so someone else can bundle it and make money (industry consolidation). None of that inspires me.
Bev Ryan she’s always moving, rearranging, redoing, reimagining, recreating. “As a company we can’t keep sitting back on how we’ve always done things, which drives people crazy here. I’m constantly questioning how we do stuff and making people really uncomfortable.”
Adapting to change One of the images on Ryan’s office wall is a quote attributed to physicist Stephen Hawking: “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change,” with numbers in place of several letters, forcing the reader’s brain to adapt. That is the very challenge now facing institutions of higher education, which today make up 80 percent of Ologie’s business—it’s worked with about 180 of them nationally. Colleges and universities are facing
enrollment declines, brand confusion and a sea of sameness as they attempt to differentiate themselves in a marketplace where many students can’t afford their sticker prices. And their value is being questioned more than ever as America’s anti-intellectual mood deepens—though research continues to show the average person with a college degree earns significantly more over their lifetime than someone without one. Add to that technological disruption and increasing building costs, and the need for new tactics is clear. New tactics, as in true innovation— and that takes guts. “Sometimes our clients are afraid,” Ryan says. “Our job is to be bold in our work so that what they’re putting out to the marketplace actually breaks
Can you speak about the evolution of our Columbus institutions? One example is the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the role that they’ve had in reshaping how the arts are funded. And we did do that campaign. [Columbus Makes Art, Art Makes Columbus]. Our community has been trying to fund the arts for 30 years. I feel like we’ve got traction now. Now this is a community that values the arts. On former CCAD President Denny Griffith, one of Ryan’s mentors: He was just such a genuine person, and to see who he was as a person and what kind of ripple effect he had on everyone around him. How he just raised people up. He gave me huge confidence— Denny kind of looked right into your eyes and into your soul. When I was on the [CCAD] board, I was a little bit younger than everybody else. And I think there were maybe three or four women out of about 20 people. It’s changed a lot now, but back then he made me feel like, hey, you have a seat at the table. July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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Ryan’s first Mac
Ologie
447 E. Main St., Columbus, 43215
ologie.com Founded: 1987
Founder: Beverly Ryan Partner: Bill Faust Business: Branding and marketing for
purpose-driven organizations, with an emphasis in higher education
Annual revenue: $12.6 million Employees: 70 Ohio clients (previous and current/ partial list): University of Akron, Capital
University, Denison University, Kenyon College, Columbus State Community College, COTA, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus Regional Airport Authority, Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Nationwide, Delta Gamma Fraternity, Junior Achievement of Central Ohio, Cardinal Health and Benefactor Group. National clients (previous and current/ partial list): University of California
Davis, Northwestern, University of Kentucky, Villanova University, Carnegie Mellon University, Bucknell, Rochester Institute of Technology, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Little League International, National FFA, University of Oklahoma, Oregon State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Connecticut, University of Pittsburgh, Smith College, Grinnell College, Chapman University, University of South Carolina, Centre College, and Agnes Scott College.
through. We could be super safe, and it would be wasting your money. It’s a better use of money to break through in the marketplace. I always tell them: You don’t have the budget to be safe. You don’t have the money to rinse and repeat in front of a customer 1,000 times.” Hartwick College, set in the pristine Appalachian hills of eastern New York in a city called Oneonta, seems like a classic New England school, with 1,200 students and an annual sticker price of $61,000 for tuition and boarding. But 44 percent of its students receive Pell grants, and that average price they actually pay to attend is closer to $23,000 a year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Affordability is important to Margaret Drugovich, its president, who introduced a “Three-Year Degree” program to help students graduate sooner, saving families money. She sees the institution’s long-term sustainability as dependent on its success in placing students in careers they love and creating a university that contributes to the economic development of the surrounding community. Drugovich first hired Bev Ryan and Ologie in the early 2000s, when she was working at a different school, and their relationship grew to trusted adviser status. “I will tell you why I seriously considered Ologie,” Drugovich says. “Because I looked at the way Bev branded her own company, and I said to myself, anyone who can that clearly market their own company, they’re the ones who will be able to help us. [Bev is] very smart. She’s very clear. She’s very focused. And I think that that makes her company extraordinarily successful.” With Ologie’s deep experience in higher education, the relationship has gone beyond the traditional role of a marketing firm. The company is helping to propel Hartwick’s strategy. “Bev has tremendous insight because of all the work that she’s done with other institutions. Her view is rich— there’s nothing about her work that’s a template.” Columbus business coach Jan Allen sees the same incisive, courageous, call-it-like-it-is strength in Ryan. “Bev has the ability to truly capture the emotion and importance of any
brand and lift it up and creatively express it into the world,” Allen says. When Ryan built the branding and marketing collateral for the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio as it was launching, “she was able to really discern and understand the promise of that organization and bring it to life,” Allen says.
Building a culture Allen has watched Ryan build Ologie with partner Bill Faust, and this is how she describes it: “Uplifting. Fun. Crazy smart. Everybody’s all in. … It’s a creative juice factory—you know the minute you walk in, you feel it.” Allen’s coaching influence has helped create that atmosphere, Ryan says. “She’s helped me— I’ve always been an empathetic person, but I had a little bit too much of an edge around the work part. She really helped me balance that out,” says Ryan, who is known for frank, but respectful, conversations with employees about performance. “I’m a truth teller, and I want to hear the truth,” she says. She’s worked to create a culture of loving transparency in the organization, keeping Allen on retainer to counsel Ologie’s people managers, who receive regular training and support. Ryan knows ultimately, people don’t stay forever. But she’s proud of where they end up. “We have a lot of longevity here, we really do. It’s impressive. But you know, the younger generation, they’re not going to stay in one place forever. So my goal was always: What kind of ripple effect are we having on communications and design in the community and where they landed?” Former Ologists, as they say, have risen to prominence at Root Insurance, Nationwide, Abbott, and many started their own companies. With four generations all under
Uplifting. Fun. Crazy smart. Everybody’s all in. … It’s a creative juice factory—you know the minute you walk in, you feel it.
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one roof (or on one Zoom call), people must learn to understand one another, Ryan says. But so-called “genius assholes,” who damage others’ confidence, aren’t tolerated. “How I coach people here is, as a leader, your job is to give people confidence with people.” Some of it feels like parenting, she says. “I’ll apologize in advance—OK, we see an issue, and here’s how I want to solve it. Another one is, ‘Hey guys, this is what’s changing in the marketplace. If we don’t get ahead of it, we’re going to be in trouble. So we’ve got to make a change.’ ”
Puzzle pieces A Pittsburgh native and Ohio State University industrial design grad, Bill Faust worked for big companies like Kodak and eventually found himself back in Columbus at a company called Fitch, which is one of the industry’s foundational firms here. But with the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and recession, Faust went looking for somewhere else to land. That was Ologie. He met Ryan through a friend of a friend, and she was a great fit because
she was nothing like him. “I wanted to look for somebody who was actually kind of the opposite of me, because I’d learned from Fitch that when I was paired up with my opposite, we did good things together,” Faust says. He’s more left-brained strategy and research, “and when I got paired up with a really smart, creative leader, good things happened.” That was Ryan, he says. “And she said hey, he fits all the things I’m not,” Faust says. “He likes to go out and meet new clients and travel around the country and introduce them to who we are. And he’s good at research and strategy. So we kind of figured out pretty quickly that we were puzzle pieces.” That was 2002. They joined forces as partners, and 18 years later, Faust says the arrangement still works. What does he admire about his partner? “That’s easy—high standards, she just won’t give up on them.”
The future
send her staff home before some others. The firm’s work has shifted to virtual not just internally, but also with higher education clients, who have needed a lot of support in carrying on operations under a new paradigm. With consolidation in the industry in the past decade swooping in on smaller independent firms like Ologie, Ryan feels like any potential deal has got to be the right deal, where values are in alignment—but she has no plans for an exit anytime soon. “Always it’s in the back of your head. Why did I start this? I wasn’t trying to make something that I could transition out of, or monetize. I’ve been in the building mode for 30-some years. Remembering why I started, to me means: What am I making? What am I communicating? What kind of impact am I having for our clients? “I’m never going to be done making this thing, making this company. I’m never going to be finished because we’re always making it, every day. It’s never finished.”
Ryan is always thinking six months out. She called the threat of the pandemic early on, making the decision to
Katy Smith is editor of Columbus CEO.
Rooted in all of us
rebuilding a better tomorrow
United in lifting all neighbors together through extraordinary times and beyond.
here with you, and for you. Get food, donate, volunteer, or advocate at mofcollective.org In promotional partnership with:
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Tech talk
Healthy Roster 20 North St., Dublin 43017
By Cynthia Bent Findlay
Healthy Roster finds spot with Covid screening Contracts are pouring in for the Dublin startup getting employees back to work and student athletes back to practice.
H
ealthy Roster was born in 2016 as an injury reporting and communication platform for athletic trainers in collegiate and high school settings. Now, the Dublin startup is working to help get students back to training and employees back to work safely with new Covid-19 screenings. The role of the athletic trainer has grown and changed in the years since a new spotlight has shone on concussion injuries in young athletes. Most parents don’t realize their school’s athletic trainers are actually contract employees of large health care systems such as OhioHealth until their child has an injury, says Healthy Roster’s co-founder and CEO Nathan Heerdt. That’s when the trainer swings into action and activates the health care network. Healthy Roster provides that bridge, becoming the first app for trainers to share critical, on-the-field medical information with orthopedists. The app replaces what was often paperwork with live online
secure chat, video and access to electronic health records. Four years after getting started, the company has grown to 20 employees, and its software is used by more than 3,000 health care providers, from Division I athletics to high schools around the country. The company also has analytics in place around sports medicine and injuries, partnering with Indianapolis-based Datalys Center, the clearinghouse of injury information for the NCAA. In 2019, Healthy Roster began to branch out into occupational health, working with large manufacturers on workplace injuries. OhioHealth’s Employer Services, for example, uses Healthy Roster’s telehealth platform to conduct virtual visits. Heerdt says when the shutdown began to happen this spring, the Healthy Roster team immediately saw an opportunity to use the company’s SAFER platform to help. “Our SAFER survey platform has for years made it easy to send out
Hyperloop could mean $300B boost The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission released a study giving a thumbs up to the feasibility of the Virgin Hyperloop project linking Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago by super high-speed rail. MORPC commissioned infrastructure consultancy AECOM to study the pros, cons and possibilities of a Midwest corridor for the 500
mph rail project. AECOM and MORPC found hyperloop would connect Chicago and Columbus in under 45 minutes with an estimated ticket cost of $60, and Columbus to Pittsburgh in under 30 minutes with an estimated ticket cost of $33— far cheaper than current air travel costs. The study also found a hyperloop has the potential to provide $300 billion in
economic benefits and shift 9 billion auto trips off the road, resulting in 4 million tons of reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Now, MORPC plans an advisory panel for further refinement of the analysis and has put in a bid to host a new Hyperloop Certification Center to push along the technology and political milestones such as safety certification.
healthyroster.com
Business: Virtual health care reporting and telemedicine CEO: Nathan Heerdt Employees: 20 Launch: 2016 Investment to date: $5 million from partners including Rev1 Ventures, Tamarind Hill and NCT Ventures
Nathan Heerdt Photo courtesy Healthy Roster
surveys—we already have a depression screening survey within the platform,” Heerdt says. Now, SAFER makes it easy for employers to accomplish two critical tasks—making sure those coming to work do not have Covid-19 symptoms, and making sure symptomatic employees do not return to work. Employees are screened before they ever leave for work. “You can tell them automatically not to come in, go get testing at this location, and easily follow up,” Heerdt says. Heerdt says the launch has been more of a sales challenge than a technological one. Previously, Healthy Roster interacted with companies through health care systems, but now, it’s reaching out directly to the majority of employers who don’t have health care providers on-site. The company also is working with colleges all over the country including Temple University on back-to -campus efforts for students. Heerdt says the company is launching four to eight contracts per week. So in the end, what may have slammed to a halt for Healthy Roster could turn into healthy 2020 growth. Cynthia Bent Findlay is a freelance writer.
12 ColumbusCEO l July 2020
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ndoubtedly, this time is different. Our current stock market volatility has been further amplified by the reality that our health and way of life is under attack from an invisible enemy, COVID-19. This is stressful for everyone, from children to aging seniors. We often tell clients the economy and market may be married, but they rarely sleep in the same bed. Never has that been more accurate than recently. The market dove quickly and then spent April and most of May recovering—without any great economic news. Now, more than ever, you should have a financial advisor who has a strategy in the advice they provide. Here are some tips to help evaluate your own experience. Does your advisor provide a custom plan or default to their one-size-fitsall portfolio or product? A financial plan is the foundation
for all investment decisions. Though we cannot predict the future, we can build a framework to make intelligent decisions with the flexibility to accommodate changing circumstances. Without a structured model of your future financial picture, investment management is a speculative guess at best. At PDS, we help our clients determine how much money they will need from their portfolio over the next seven to twelve years, adjusted for taxes and inflation, allowing our advisors and clients to build a portfolio matching the client’s need. It is a thorough process and has been the basis of how we address our clients’ fears about today’s headlines. Does your advisor actively listen and empathize with your concerns? Too often, advisors just want to prescribe you what they already know. Our clients call us when they have concerns because they know we listen
first, empathize with their concerns and only then offer solutions to directly address those issues. It starts by simply answering the phone or returning inquiries in a timely fashion, regardless of account size. Pretty simple actually— yet challenging for so many advisors. PDS’s transparent, flat dollar fee model eliminates the pressure to play favorites with clients based on the size of their portfolio. At PDS, our fee model assures our clients it’s about enhancing their wealth, not ours. Does your advisor validate your concerns, withhold judgment and provide a logical alternative? Our job is to serve our clients’ interests ahead of our own. Sometimes, that requires us to deliver advice our clients need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear. When we do this with empathy, our clients recognize emotions do not cloud our judgment. And they respect our willingness to not concede to their emotional instincts. PDS clients find comfort in knowing that for over three decades, we have provided objective advice built on a well-structured financial plan. There are many things to be worried about today, but your long-term financial health should not be one of them. Though this time may be different, our process for delivering sound financial advice has remained the same. Let us show you how!
Jamie P. Menges, CFP®, CPA Principal
JMenges@pdsplanning.com
PDS Planning 475 Metro Place S, Ste. 460 Dublin, OH 43017 614-481-8449 info@pdsplanning.com
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6/18/20 11:16 AM
briefing By Katy Smith
Nonprofits facing ‘tsunami of need’ With stopgap funding from various federal programs set to run out, the human services sector is looking ahead to a painful fall.
S
urveys taken by United Way of Central Ohio and Human Service Chamber of Franklin County in March, April and May revealed the depths of the pain felt by local nonprofits amid the coronavirus crisis. More than $8 million in fundraising dollars had already been lost due to canceled events as of March 24, says Michael Wilkos, senior vice president of community impact for United Way. That’s a number that has no doubt grown much higher since late
I m p a c t
o n
Nearly all Central Ohio health and human service nonprofits experienced revenue loss due to the Covid-19 crisis. Most nonprofits report losing revenue from multiple sources due to the COVID-19 crisis. Fundraisers Contributions or donations Fee-for-services Reimbursements Social enterprise Other revenue sources
63% 63% 62% 37% 14% 23%
March. While local generosity has been wonderful, “that $8 million is more than the combined amount of the Columbus Foundation and the United Way’s emergency coronavirus funds,” says Michael Corey, executive director of the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County. That’s on top of the revenue nonprofits have lost from having to shut their business enterprises. “So there’s a massive hole that this has created,” he says. The sector is expecting to see
Black women entrepreneurs: Take this survey The newly founded Alliance of Black Businesswomen and Entrepreneurs Ohio, which was created by Keena Smith, co-founder of the Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity, wants to connect with Black
R e v e n u e
women business owners. ABBE’s statewide survey will gauge the extent of economic injury to these businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it will be followed up with a series of focus groups.
TAKE T H E SUR V E Y AT https://bit.ly/BLKWOMENRISE ABBE is a collaboration of Black women business owners across Ohio including Smith, Smoot, and Columbus’ Aventi Enterprises CEO Deonna Barnett and Speakerazzi CEO Whitney Barkley.
The point is “to give voice to our whole stories. And that’s more important than merely the raw data,” Smith says. The results of the survey, which will end June 29, will be available in July. “The voices of Black women business owners often gets submerged and aggregated so much that they get lost,” says Barb Smoot, CEO of Women for Economic Leadership and Development. “Keena has been the force to disaggregate those voices and their experiences.”
Source: United Way/Human Service Chamber survey
a huge increase in need starting in September, when federal stimulus money, unemployment compensation, Paycheck Protection Program and CARES Act funds run out. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate could hover above 10 percent for awhile, and 1,300 evictions are set to make their way through Franklin County courts this month. People are calling it “a tsunami of need,” Wilkos says. The federal Paycheck Protection Program has been one piece of notbad news for the sector: 79 percent of the 89 organizations surveyed applied for the funds, and 86 percent of those who applied received funds, Wilkos says. Is there going to be a movement at the federal level to continue benefits for nonprofits? “That’s the question,” Corey says. “I sure hope so. But I am not confident. “If the federal government doesn’t step up, then the immediate consequence is services dwindle at a time when they’re needed more than they have been in a very, very long time,” Corey says. The United Way/Human Service Chamber survey drew a high response—89 organizations representing 13,576 employees and 972 programs at the beginning of March.
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Future 50
Class of 2021
NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS For a second year, we're excited to honor Columbus' most creative, altruistic changemakers with a program that goes beyond awards (and doesn't set an age restriction). Future 50 is a vehicle for emerging leaders to build a better community and advance Columbus into the pivotal time ahead.
Nominations due July 31
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6/18/20 11:01 AM
spotlight By Kathy Lynn Gray + Photo by rob hardin
Small Business
Smooth transition
David Brooks
Cheesecake master hopes to sell his high-end product internationally.
W
hen the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March, chef David Brooks was working 90 hours a week expanding his gourmet cheesecake business to restaurants locally and planning an April 1 rollout to restaurants nationwide. In a matter of days, both markets dried up as officials slammed the doors on restaurants across the country to keep the virus from spreading. But Brooks, who’s learned to deftly pivot during 40 years in food service, redesigned his business model in a matter of weeks to keep his company, Dave’s Artisanal Cheesecakes, afloat.
“We’ve been through tough times before and tough times don’t last, but tough people do. We’re tough people.” David Brooks, Dave’s Artisanal Cheesecakes
Dave’s Artisanal Cheesecakes
Food Fort, 737 Parkwood Ave., Columbus 43219 davesartisanalcheesecakes.com Business: Makes and sells specialty
cheesecakes online
Owner: David Brooks Founded: 2013 Revenue: Would not disclose
“I knew I’d have to survive specifically on retail,” says Brooks, who started in 2013 selling to restaurants such as Crest Gastropub and expanded to include Matt the Miller’s, Lindey’s and Due Amici. With more than 75 percent of his business gone during the early days of the pandemic, he started selling his high-end cheesecakes exclusively online. Brooks revamped his website and began to personally deliver cheesecakes to individuals or businesses who ordered them within Franklin County. He obtained loans through the Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster programs from the federal Small Business Administration to pay for the costs of expanding to shipping nationwide. One thing didn’t change—he continued to make all of the company’s
cheesecakes himself at the Food Fort, an incubator for young food businesses on the Near East Side. These are no ordinary cheesecakes, Brooks is quick to point out. His goal is to make the best cheesecake in the country. “I buy the very best ingredients I can get; there are no shortcuts here,” he says. The vanilla extract he uses, for example, is a mixture he creates by blending extracts sourced from three countries. He bakes a range of cheesecake sizes, from 2 ½- to 10-pound, and flavors, including traditional deli style, elderberry and buttermilk swirl, Guinness stout and vanilla bean. “He’s amazing; he really knows his stuff,” says Michael Morales, who’s worked as a chef for more than 30 years. Morales, known as
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Chef Michael, met Brooks at the Food Fort, which he uses for his two catering businesses, Kool Daddy’s BBQ and Tasteful Occasion. Morales says Brooks’ cheesecake is the smoothest he’s ever tasted and meticulously made. “He puts a lot of love into it, and a lot of time and effort into the process,” he says. Joe Vavrek, corporate chef for Matt the Miller’s, says his restaurants started serving Brooks’ cheesecake about five years ago as part of a special regional menu, then continued to serve it. “The quality of the product and the pricing and love and care he put into it checked all the boxes,” Vavrek says. Brooks also uses heavyweight packaging, dividers between the cheesecake pieces and was willing to custom-make special varieties for the restaurants, such as some with a gluten-free crust. Brooks first delved into the tricky world of cheesecake baking in a “bachelor living class” when he was a sophomore at Fredericktown High School in Knox County in 1975. He wasn’t planning a career as a chef when he graduated from Ohio State University with a journalism degree. But he’d worked in food service as a student and continued after he finished school, eventually learning enough to work as a sous chef and pastry chef at Columbus restaurants such as Fifty Five at Crosswoods. In 2003 he opened Your Just Desserts as a side hustle, selling wedding cakes and other specialties while working at area restaurants and a local grocery chain. In 2013 he made the leap to a fulltime cheesecake business with one employee: himself. “I love to bake cheesecake,” Brooks says when asked why he settled on that particular product. “I can’t say it any better than that. It’s my passion and I have spent years practicing my craft.” He hopes to expand sales worldwide, shipping cheesecakes in dry ice, in the coming months despite the uncertain economy. He’s confident he’ll succeed. “We’ll take baby steps forward if we have to. We’ve been through tough times before and tough times don’t last, but tough people do. We’re tough people.” Kathy Lynn Gray is a freelance writer.
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Public art images left to right: Feather Point by Olga Ziemska; #ArtUnitesCbus by Mandi Caskey, photo by Lydia Miller; Long Street Cultural Wall by Kojo Kamau and Larry Winston Collins; Rain Sister at Rain Brother by Katerina Armeria and Richard Duarte Brown; The Journey by Ryan Sarfati and Eric Skotnes; Labyrinth of Imagination by Stephanie Rond and Barbara Fant. Design by Formation Studio.
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6/18/20 10:48 AM
spotlight By Peter Tonguette + Photo by Rob hardin
Nonprofit
Arts advocate Angela Meleca is giving a voice to arts groups across Ohio.
D
uring the six years she ran her Downtown gallery, Angela Meleca enjoyed being her own boss. She also liked the freedom of being able to support a range of arts groups. “For so long, I liked being Switzerland, if you will,” says Meleca, who from 2013 to 2019 owned the Angela Meleca Gallery on East State Street. “I was very much involved in the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus Museum of Art and Columbus College of Art and Design.” So, when she learned of a job opening at the nonprofit organization Ohio Citizens for the Arts, which advocates for public funding for the
“How powerful would we be to have a unified voice for arts and culture in Ohio come together under one umbrella?” Angela Meleca, executive director, Ohio Citizens for the Arts
Ohio Citizens for the Arts 77 S. High St., Columbus 43215 ohiocitizensforthearts.org Mission: To promote public spending for
the arts in Ohio.
Executive director: Angela Meleca Revenue: $210,000 in 2019 Source: Membership fees Employees: 2 full-time
Angela Meleca arts, “There was a little bit of: ‘Gosh, I don’t want to pick sides,’ ” says Meleca, 50. In November, Meleca became the executive director of the group, which operates as both a 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 organization. It hires lobbyists to plead the case for arts funding with government officials while helping its members—which include the Columbus Symphony, BalletMet, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland—speak up. “It’s a 24/7 effort in which we are communicating the impact and the value that our members in the arts and culture sector add to everyday life,” says Meleca, who before opening her gallery was involved in the state political scene, serving as
statehouse bureau chief for the Ohio News Network and later as press secretary for the Ohio Senate. Her familiarity with the corridors of power and enthusiasm for the arts made her a good fit for the new job. “We wanted somebody who was passionate to come in and understand the depth of what was needed—and, of course, be able to appreciate the work,” says board member Demetries Neely, executive director of the King Arts Complex. Ohio Citizens for the Arts was established in 1976 as part of a wave of similar state organizations formed with the goal of making more public money available for arts, says former Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Wayne Lawson.
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“Most of the state arts agencies in this country were starting to feel that they weren’t really receiving the kinds of money they needed to support the growing arts scenes,” Lawson says. “We were right at the forefront of that, saying, ‘Hey, we need to educate people. We need to get people over to the legislature.’ ” Despite the organization’s rich history, Meleca’s first order of business was to raise its profile. “I’d never heard of Ohio Citizens for the Arts,” she says. In December and January, she toured the state, checking in with member organizations to learn about artists outside the major population centers of Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. “How powerful would we be to have a unified voice for arts and culture in Ohio come together under one umbrella?” she says. Ironically, Meleca’s wish for greater collaboration and communication came about with the coronavirus pandemic, which, as she describes it, risks decimating arts groups and the $41 billion economic impact they have on the Ohio economy. “Where there are theaters, restaurants come around,” says Meleca, “If Ohio Theatre closes or the galleries close, or if Short North Stage closes, slowly that whole vibrancy erodes.” As the state decides how to cut its spending to make up for expected shortfalls this year, the arts should have a voice at the table, she says. “If there are going to be cuts, the cuts need to be equitable.” Ohio Citizens for the Arts has acted as a conduit of information about arts groups to the DeWine administration as bans on gatherings are lifted. It solicited perspectives from Ohio’s museums on best reopening practices, which were then submitted to the state. “We’ve had two statewide art director calls,” Meleca says. “Now we’ve been looping in botanical gardens and history museums.” Meleca offers a sobering view of the fate of the arts in Ohio—she anticipates an 18- to 24-month recovery for many groups—but she is driven by a sense of mission. “I wanted to shake things up, and Covid-19 helped me achieve that,” she says with a laugh. “Sometimes, I’m wondering, ‘Oh boy, be careful what you wish for.’ ”
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Peter Tonguette is a freelance writer. July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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6/18/20 9:14 PM
spotlight By Laura Newpoff + Photo by Rob hardin
Innovation
Gary Heinze
Paper shredder Northwoods helping social workers manage cases remotely amid Covid-19.
A
cross Ohio there are 88 county departments of Jobs and Family Services. One out of every four Ohioans is in that system that provides medical, cash and food assistance, child care, child support and job-related workshops. To get help, each person’s eligibility has to be verified each time he or she applies for a service.
“[AI and machine learning] provide insight … and deliver that to the social worker, immediately allowing them to have a better understanding of what they are getting into when they walk through a door on a home visit.” Gary Heinze, CEO of Northwoods
Northwoods
5200 Rings Road, Dublin 43017 teamnorthwoods.com Business: Nearly 45,000 social workers and
caseworkers across the U.S. use the company’s software to manage, collect, view and share content and data.
CEO: Gary Heinze Founded: 2003 Employees: 155 Revenue: $35 million
The result is more than 1 billion documents that have to be processed efficiently so people can get the help they need. Prior to the end of 2018, virtually all those documents were handled on a county-by-county basis. Those counties couldn’t easily share documents when someone moved, and paperwork often got misplaced in a process that wasn’t uniform. Caseworkers spent more time on administrative tasks than helping families. “Let us focus on casework, not paperwork,” says Joel Potts, executive director of the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors’ Association. “The eligibility process is so paper-dependent, and our workers were spending an inordinate amount of time on that paperwork. The files easily got lost, including when they had to be transferred across county lines. You’d make copies, have paper files and, in some larger cities, the files were maintained in different buildings.”
For years, though, some counties individually had invested in content management software by Dublin technology company Northwoods. Its Traverse product, for example, scans and analyzes all the information that’s collected, which allows social workers, supervisors, directors and state executives to more easily make decisions about the vulnerable populations they serve. “Traverse turns every word on that paper into text, and then uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide insight into that content and summarize that content and deliver that to the social worker, immediately allowing them to have a better understanding of what they are getting into when they walk through a door on a home visit,” says CEO Gary Heinze. The software presents information in the form of what Heinze calls a “word cloud.” An employee can look at the cloud and get a high-level
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Laura Newpoff is a freelance writer.
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orientation of a case in a matter of seconds versus hours of investigation. As part of the Affordable Care Act, states could receive a 90 percent federal match if they made upgrades to their benefit eligibility systems by the end of 2018. Northwoods won the contract to implement a statewide document management system that has helped counties reduce the paperwork burden and free up caseworkers to spend more time in the field, accessing and submitting documents from anywhere. It’s been especially helpful amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “The counties are raving about how well it works to suddenly have remote workers and be able to keep up with the applications,” Potts says. “There have been a quarter of a million applications through these last 10 weeks, plus the regular caseload, plus we’re dealing with a recession. Northwoods’ system allows us to stop focusing on paperwork and focus on outcomes.” Heinze co-founded Northwoods in 2003 to ease the burden of social workers who were overwhelmed with the volume of cases they received and case files that could run into the thousands of pages. The goal was to provide software to help caseworkers manage, collect, view and share content and data more efficiently. Today, nearly 45,000 social workers and caseworkers across the U.S. use the company’s products. Northwoods has several former agency directors on staff, and its employees observe what’s going on in the field. Several years ago, Northwoods employees tagged along with child welfare workers, for example, to understand their burdens. They found many of those workers were carrying paper case files from house to house and that they were spending twothirds of their day doing paperwork. The result was a product called Compass CoPilot in the Field. It allows caseworkers to have a mobile document management solution that gives them instant access to complete case files no matter where they are. “We did a study after the solution was in place and found that the caseworkers were now spending one-third of their time on paperwork,” Heinze says. “It freed them up to help the people they are trying to serve.”
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Dionte’ Johnson Owner
Sole Classics Age: 34 Business: Sneaker and streetwear boutiques in Short North and Dublin. Education: Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, marketing major Hometown: Columbus Employees: 12, 10 active Revenue: Would not disclose Personal: Johnson lives in Gahanna with his wife, Jessica Johnson, and four children, Dionte’ Johnson Jr., Aarin Johnson, Amari Johnson and Jamir Johnson.
Dionte’ Johnson in front of Sole Classics in the Short North, where he spray-painted a message on the shop’s boarded-up front after the protests: “This is on us! For generations, we have called the youth stupid, stripped funding from their programs, kicked them out of places, and ignored them. What would you expect?? Don’t shut your doors tighter. Open your hearts wider.”
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OPEN-H 6/18/20 5:21 PM
If you know anything about who Dionte’ Johnson is as a Black man, coach, business owner and mentor, his response to the looting of his Short North boutique shouldn’t be a surprise. By Tatyana Tandanpolie + Photos by Rob Hardin
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N-HEARTED 024-027_Feature_SoleClaasic_New.indd 25
ighteous tension filled the Downtown air on the night of May 29. Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency as the second night of anti-police brutality protests demanding justice for George Floyd erupted on the city streets. Daylight’s peaceful demonstrations turned violent as the sun set: Distraught protestors chanted as police formed blockades. Tear gas painted the night sky a cloudy white and covered the ground in thick plumes. Crowds gathered and scattered over city blocks, fighting for themselves as much as they fought for Black lives, and rioters tore through the Short North. Among them was the group that broke into Dionte’ Johnson’s sneaker and streetwear boutique near East Hubbard Avenue and North High Street, Sole Classics. Then Johnson received the call from ADT Security that broke his heart. He’s told the story plenty of times by now, reliving his mad dash out of his Gahanna home, the 10- to 15-minute drive Downtown that went by in a blur, the crowd he squeezed through to reach his busted storefront. Along his path to grab a broom in the back were shimmering glass shards, tattered boxes, overturned furniture and freshly emptied shelves and racks. With each sweep of the broom, the angered haze clouding Johnson’s periphery cleared to reveal the surrounding friends, family and strangers sweeping, picking up glass, returning shoes and boxes found a mile up the July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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street, and vying for the chance to show him their footage of the looters. “I know the word love sounds cliche and I use it a lot, but that’s how I felt like,“ he says. “All that anger, all that animosity kind of really got swept away within the first five, 10 minutes because there were so many more people that cared than I even saw in the video of stealing.” Johnson and his makeshift clean-up crew worked through the night, dwindling to a few cousins by morning. His community surrounded him and Sole Classics again the next day with an outpouring of love online, encouraging text messages, phone calls and brief drop-ins to the shop. And why wouldn’t they? Of course they’d show out for the resurrection of the beloved Sole Classics and the man who’s broken bread with them, given back to the only community he’s called home and consistently shown them that their lives matter. “When you think about role models, you think about people that are a little bit older than you,” says store manager and fellow businessman Dan Dover of Johnson. “He’s been someone that’s been a peer role model for all of us for a long time.” ••• By Saturday afternoon, Johnson had left a now-viral message to the greater Columbus community, scrawled in layered orange and black spray paint on the plywood panels boarding the shop. The block letters cried out: Make space for the city’s youth in your lives and businesses—“open your hearts wider” to them. The note from a business owner who’d suffered damages came as a pleasant surprise to many, but for Johnson it was a natural response. After reviewing videos of Sole Classics’ looting, he saw the perpetrators were teenagers, and softened. “That’s where my heart is, with these youth,” he says. Johnson thought back to the young people he’s coached over 11 years on the football team at his alma mater, Eastmoor Academy High School, and the negativity he says they’re “force-fed.” He thought back to his experiences at Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy and to the days he spent with his mother, a social worker and lawyer, who helped kids his age
at the Huckleberry House. He thought back to his own childhood growing up on the East Side, spending summertime evenings playing tag with his buddies until midnight and occasionally being stopped and searched by Columbus police. While he doesn’t condone stealing, he’s seen how the system treats youth, and he wanted his message to reflect that. “It’s saying that I’m not about to contribute to a justice system that is looking to mark these kids at 16, 17, 18 [years old] with a record that’s gonna last them the rest of their life,” he says. “They’ll never be able to own a gun. They’ll never be able to vote. They’ll never be able to do XYZ, if I decide to go forward with charges.” He never filed a police report and is unsure if his landlord plans to pursue legal action. But he will not press charges. All his experiences and interactions contributed to his decision and shaped him into the person he is, he says, but working with young football players at Eastmoor did so especially. “He really gets involved, and he’s not afraid to invest in and talk to the youth and get our opinion,” says Miicah Coleman, a former Eastmoor Warriors linebacker and mentee of Johnson’s. His community outreach only starts there. Since buying Sole Classics in 2010, Johnson has held yearly back-toschool drives for neighborhood kids and coordinated with local barbers to provide kids with free haircuts. He’s made Sole Classics interns out of former players and Omega Psi Phi fraters, and he leads the Look Ma’ No Hands organization dedicated to inspiring inner-city youth. Coleman says Johnson has given discounts to Eastmoor students for every A on their report cards and handed out free shoes to his players. He inspired Coleman to study business marketing at Ohio State University and bought him a digital
“He really gets involved, and he’s not afraid to invest in and talk to the youth and get our opinion.” Miicah Coleman, a former Eastmoor Warriors linebacker and mentee of Johnson’s
camera for his photography work. And after the looting shook his world and he raised enough money through donations to repair Sole Classics, Johnson committed leftover funds to other Black business owners facing hardships. “The reason why I want to see more Black businesses survive and flourish and be successful is because we need more examples [of success] in our community beyond entertainment,” he says. “That’s not a talent that you could pass on to your kids and guarantee success, [like a business could].” ••• Barely two weeks after the break-in, Johnson and the crew at Sole Classics reopened the Short North boutique with plans to install a new, floor-toceiling front window. With both locations up and running again (there is a Dublin Sole Classics shop, too) they returned to business as usual, bringing streetwear back to the masses and hosting an Instagram Live giveaway via the business’ page. Johnson—though he never wants to see what happened to Sole Classics happen to him or any other business owner again—hopes the events of the past few weeks mark the beginning of a long journey toward lasting change in Columbus. As “one of a handful of Black sneaker store owners in the entire world,” he wants to see more diversity in the business world, more people willing to break down barriers and welcome Black and brown businesses to the scene, and more bank CEOs creating programs for those business owners. As a Black man and mentor in America, he wants to see police accountability, an end to “the code of protect the blue,” and police officers getting involved with the communities they’re meant to protect, repairing relationships that have been broken for generations. “If this leads to police reform, if this leads to more funding for education, then it was a sacrifice just like you sacrifice people going off to war,” Johnson says. “Some people don’t come home from war, and this is a great sacrifice for a greater good. Now it’s just our job as a community to make sure businesses don’t fail because of it.” Tatyana Tandanpolie is an intern.
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WHAT WE CAN DO TO ADVANCE CHANGE TODAY
Companies say they’re committed to fighting racism and bringing equality to their organizations. Black business owners have advice for how to make that a reality.
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By Katy smith n an unprecedented break from the routine avoidance of political issues, major brands across the country have pledged their commitment and their resources to fight racism in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and many other Black people by police. In Columbus, some 750 organiza-
tions including the leaders of the city’s largest private sector companies signed a letter to City Council declaring racism a public health crisis. The group of supporters has grown beyond 3,000 and represents a major departure from the sideline sentiments of the past. With businesses putting themselves out there to advance racial justice and equality—supporting employees attending protests and wear-
ing Black Lives Matter garb—many have asked: Now what are these large corporations going to actually do to create meaningful change? Here’s what a few CEOs had to say on the topic, and what some Black business owners say would help everyone succeed going forward. Katy Smith is editor of Columbus CEO.
What can powerful organizations with far-reaching platforms do to spur meaningful change right now? Courtnee Carrigan
Photo courtesy Courtnee Carrigan
CEO and executive trainer, Raising the Bar Performance Group and project manager for Franklin County’s Blueprint to Reduce Poverty
2020 has decided that it is going to be the year of the reset, because physically, economically, socially, emotionally and systematically, we have all had to adjust in ways that we would not have seen coming five years ago. I think 2020 is demanding that we come together to actually do some work. In my four years as a small business owner [doing diversity and inclusion work and executive training], my clientele has predominantly been the private sector. To support the advancement of this work, these white voices should start being anti-racist instead of just non-racist. First, create a zero-tolerance policy and a zero-tolerance culture. Franklin Templeton is an example that I use—remember Amy Cooper? (The
white woman who called the police on a Black man in Central Park because he asked her to put her dog on a leash. He was there bird-watching.) Amy Cooper ended up losing her job because [investment firm] Franklin Templeton had a zero-tolerance policy for this. And for me, I have been telling friends of mine: I’m not letting go of Amy Cooper. Amy Cooper is in every organization, agency and work environment. I have worked with many Amy Coopers. These are Amy Coopers who have stopped Black and brown people from getting promotions, from getting raises. And Black and brown people have lost their livelihood because of the Amy Coopers in the workplace. So, if our white corporate establishment wants to
do some anti-racist work, create an anti-racist culture where that is not going to be tolerated and start to look at what policies can you have that protect Black and brown employees from the Amy Coopers. The second piece of that is, with the racial equity training, I like to talk about creating this shared understanding [that racism is really happening in the workplace]. Because when you do that, it creates clarity, and we can all start from a place of knowing, and not being able to say, “I didn’t know that.” We should no longer be a culture of I-didn’t-know-that. Famous anti-racist scholar Dr. Ibram Kendi says the only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it and dismantle it.
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What does your organization plan to do to address systemic racism and inequality?
Photo courtesy nationwide
The past few weeks have been filled with significant emotion. The images we’ve seen shed a light on the opportunities before us. We’re determined to be a force for good and effect change, and we understand that actions speak louder than words. In addition to our longstanding partnerships with organizations like the National Urban League and National Fair Housing Alliance, we’re increasing
Kirt Walker CEO, Nationwide
Photo courtesy Ebony igwebuike-tye
What can large businesses with lots of resources and big platforms do to bring change?
Ebony Igwebuike-Tye Serial entrepreneur and real estate agent
First, we have to examine ourselves. You know, I think that’s the first part of meaningful action. Ask yourself: Do you know any black business owners? And then, are you looking for opportunities
to seek their advice? Put them on your board? Refer them business? These are intentional steps, they may require you to drive further or use some extra effort. I think the end result will be meaningful action toward inclusion and advancement— and also increased profitability because this is a spectrum of the market. The Black consumer is a big portion of the market that a lot of brands are missing. The Black consumer is looking to see if these companies are using Black business partners. We go into your stores, we don’t see any Black employees. We don’t see any Black people in any positions of leadership. So is this really important to you?
community investments to combat racism and promote economic empowerment. We announced a new $1 million commitment to support local and national programs dedicated to fostering social justice. Internally we established a social justice task force of associates across the company. We’re inviting civic leaders to engage in companywide “Catalyst for Change” conversations.
While I admit I’ll never fully understand what it’s like to be a person of color, I know right from wrong. And I know that if any part of my team is impacted, it impacts us all. At its heart, that’s what our “On Your Side” slogan means. It means holding one another accountable when we see injustice. And it means listening to one another—not just to hear or be heard, but to understand and be understood.
How have the protests following the killings of George Floyd and others affected you? Marlon Platt Founder, Marlon Anthony Events and co-owner of Our Bar & Lounge, Olde Towne East
I’m not a big political person. But I understand racism plays a role in the position of Black people in society, and what’s keeping us underserved and downsized. So, since these last events, I submitted myself to doing something about it. So I’ve written a personal “Black Agenda” that I’ve started to share with people, and I’m trying to organize resources in our community. 1. Build wealth within the
Igwebuike-Tye owns Ambassador Home Health Services in Reynoldsburg, God’s Kidz daycare on the South Side and What to Wear consignment store in Clintonville. Photo courtesy Marlon Platt
African American community—establishing businesses, learning how to manage our money and invest, and also spending money within the Black community. 2. Vote. Selecting political officials, getting involved on a local level, aligning ourselves with candidates who have the interests of people of color at hand— and then also holding them accountable. 3. Buy back the block. Taking ownership in the communities that we once lived in—places like Linden, Mount Vernon—going back to those communities and establishing ourselves, buying up land and building businesses. 4. Tell our own story. We don’t have any control over media platforms—so really building up Black TV networks, radio stations, podcasts, social media platforms. 5. Each One Teach One. Create a community-based education model based on building relative life skills. July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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What can powerful organizations with far-reaching platforms do to spur meaningful change right now? Photo courtesy SHELLEE FISHER
Barb Smoot CEO, Women for Economic Leadership and Development
Many companies have issued public statements on their stance in support of Black Lives Matter and against racism. Clearly, taking such a public stance on racism is new for many of these companies. Many of these public statements read very much the same way. We have seen that as some companies post their statements on social media, some of their Black employees are begging to differ about whether these companies practice what they preach. What is happening at Adidas is just one example. Adidas issued their statement, and Black employees protested via walkouts and
other means. The elimination of racism begins at home, so to speak, and it starts at the top. There are no excuses for the scarcity of African Americans on company boards and in the C-suites.
What will distinguish the deeply committed companies from those giving lip service will be the detailed strategies and tactics that boards hold management accountable to achieve. Companies plan and mea-
sure around what they view is a priority. It is critical for companies to first start within their own four walls and review their practices (hiring, promotions, pay, supplier diversity, community investment, etc.) and consider the numerous recommendations for progress their Black employees have provided them over the years. A “check the box” approach such as only doing implicit bias training and nothing else stops well short of the holistic set of actions needed to effect real change. It is like putting on your exercise clothes, doing some stretching and then calling it a day. Implicit bias training prepares you for the impactful work that needs to get done, but is by no means the complete workout.
Dr. Hal Paz Executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs, Ohio State University and CEO, Ohio State Unversity Wexner Medical Center
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Ohio State’s seven health science colleges have a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to address the many ways racism affects the health of our community. We know racial discrimination makes it hard to obtain good jobs, housing, education and other social determinants of health, therefore there is a direct line between racism and health outcomes. Our commitment to improving health among the underserved is decades long, with building up Ohio State East Hospital and the Outpatient East
facility into thriving centers that offer quality health care services on the Near East Side. Our Moms2B program has been lowering preterm births among atrisk mothers for ten years. Now, our new Community Care Coach takes primary and maternal health care into underserved neighborhoods, and our new healthy community center at the former Martin Luther King Jr. Library will help decrease obesity and chronic illness in the community. As an academic health center, Ohio State Wexner Medical Center finds strength in the diversity of our faculty, staff and students. To achieve health
equity, it is imperative that health care providers not only receive proper training to avoid racial and gender bias, but also that they come from all possible backgrounds. Ohio State’s College of Medicine developed implicit bias training that is now used at colleges across the country. For six years, more than half of our incoming medical students have been women and a fourth of this year’s incoming class are from underrepresented backgrounds. We encourage every business to do their part to improve opportunity, improve health and improve our Columbus.
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Photos courtesy freweini alemayoh and moses hayelom
Photo Rob Hardin
As a medical expert, can you explain how racism affects health outcomes? And, can you share what your organization plans to do to address systemic racism and inequality?
What does your organization plan to do to address systemic racism and inequality? Nick Akins Chairman, president and CEO, American Electric Power
The unjust deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and many more Black Americans are appalling and underscore how much work we need to do to address the racial divide in our country. It was incredibly moving for me when an African American employee recently commented that he “can breathe here” at AEP. I won’t stop working until he
can breathe everywhere. AEP is committed to a culture where everyone is valued and treated with dignity and respect. Our leaders participate in unconscious bias and inclusive leadership training, and I actively support the work of our employee resource groups to increase understanding among employees from all backgrounds. We’ve made it clear that anyone who can’t support our inclusion and diversity commitment doesn’t belong at AEP. We also focus AEP’s
community giving on basic human needs and STEM education in struggling communities. And we track our progress to increase diversity on our leadership team and among our suppliers. But we need to take bigger and bolder steps toward equity. We’re committed to creating positive social change both within and outside the walls of AEP. We will talk about race, prejudice and inclusiveness openly, even if it’s uncomfortable.
Photo courtesy aep
We will partner with other companies and the public sector, including law enforcement, to find solutions and take meaningful steps to do better for our communities. We don’t have all of the answers. But we are going to be part of a solution.
As a movement for racial justice and equality has grown recently, what has it been like for you as a Black business owner? Freweini Alemayoh and Moses Hayelom
Photos courtesy freweini alemayoh and moses hayelom
Mother and son, co-owners with daughter Winta of Wintana’s Salon & Spa and Flavor 91 Bistro, Whitehall
Freweini Alemayoh: I think it’s way past due. It’s the 21st century—every human being should be treated equally. Nobody should be treated the way [George Floyd] was treated. When we get pulled over by police, you don’t know what’s gonna happen to you. Four years ago, my son got pulled over in Baltimore and got seven citations in
Freweini Alemayoh
one stop. The police gave him everything you can think of. The bill was $1,900. A lot of young men are getting killed by police, so I always told him if he got pulled over, make sure you say, “Yes, sir.” Do not argue. Just be polite. Be nice. [I hired] an attorney and the case went to court because it didn’t make sense. It ended up getting dismissed. But if I hadn’t been able to pay for an attorney for him, if he wasn’t able to pay that $1,900, if he had hidden the ticket like some kids, he would have had arrest warrants issued to him. He would have lost his
Moses Hayelom
scholarship and going to college, period. And he would probably gotten arrested and his life would have probably been done. As a society, we have to stand together to make change. Moses Hayelom: I’m appreciative of the fact that people who don’t even have to worry about this being a reality in their life are taking it upon themselves to show care, to show compassion to show frustration and to actively process and actively be out and demanding the conversation change. That’s a beautiful thing to us to see. You know, there’s many experiences that we’ve had, through life, being profiled or, you know, racially thrown slurs at. Business-wise, we’ve been getting a lot of overwhelming support, and we’re happy about that. We hope that we’re able to bring about the change that we want to see as well with
our own business and how we reinvest that. I hope all Black businesses are empowered from this and that people don’t use this as a marketing ploy. They use it as a real movement.
What can large businesses do to actually bring change? Moses Hayelom: Statements are not enough. They need to include Black people and people of color, (who) have a say in their direction. Bottom line, it has to include systemic change at the same time. So I would ask: How many Black writers are on staff at Columbus CEO? (Editor’s note: Point taken. We have one Black writer, one Black intern, and one Black freelance writer.) Just like with the NFL, putting their statement out there, you look at it like: Is that real or not? Is Colin Kaepernick going to be on the board of directors? How do you implement that in your leadership? July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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The Crumbling Ivory Tower Otterbein President John Comerford is telling people every chance he gets: Higher education’s business model is facing unprecedented disruption. It’s evolve now or die.
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By Katy Smith + Photos by Rob Hardin ohn Comerford tells it like it is: Higher education lacks transparency when it comes to pricing. Lofty sticker prices and magazine rankings impress wealthy families looking for prestigious placements, while these same students enjoy discounts thanks to merit-based financial aid that more often than not benefits students whose families can comfortably pay more. Then there are FAFSAs and EFCs and OCOGs and Pells—the system is confusing to families, and it keeps some students who think they can’t afford it from applying. How does that advance the American Dream? Comerford would like to know. If you were, say, sitting next to Comerford on a train, or gravitated to the same corner as him at a cocktail party, you’d be lucky. He’s fun to talk to—handsome and engaging, with an uncanny way of coming off as simultaneously Uber-educated and down to earth. His suit is meticulously pressed, his posture is impeccable, his sentences are crisply enunciated—and you can only imagine they’d be perfectly spelled and punctuated, too—yet his aura is accessible, relatable. You feel he cares about the same things you do, maybe he’s even just like you (if you’re a white Midwesterner)—except he’s a university presi-
dent. And he will talk your ear off about the broken business model in American higher education, though you won’t notice the time passing while he boils it all down. To hear the way Comerford lobs criticism at universities, you’d never guess he runs one. He’s run two of them, actually. The 42-year-old president of Otterbein University came to Westerville in 2018 after five years at the helm of Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois, about halfway between Springfield and St. Louis. He grew up in Wisconsin and Illinois, the son of two college professors he was ready to get away from, like any young person, by the time he was ready to go to college himself at Western Illinois University. Affordability and accessibility in higher education, as you probably have guessed, is Comerford’s big issue, and he’s done a lot more than talk about it at both Blackburn and Otterbein. At Blackburn, which is a socalled “work college,” where students work on campus for several hours a week, Comerford created a program to meet the full financial need of all its incoming students, two-thirds of whom are eligible for federal Pell grants reserved for the neediest students. And at Otterbein, he introduced the Opportunity Scholarship to cover tuition for Pell-eligible Ohio students after federal and state aid, grants and other scholarships, a program similar to one at Ohio State University. In his campaign to make postsecondary education affordable and welcoming for first-generation students, Comerford also has championed diversity, increasing the number of students of color at 550-student Blackburn from 12 percent to 24 percent over four years. Otterbein’s trustees knew they were getting a president whose first order of business was caring about students—all
Otterbein President John Comerford on an empty campus this summer.
of them, and perhaps especially the ones who weren’t there yet—when they chose Comerford from a national field of 80 applicants in 2018. Before he accepted the position, Comerford says they talked at length about the desire to make the private, 2,800-student university more accessible. Indeed, it’s a priority for donors, too: During Otterbein’s recently completed $50 million fundraising campaign, the majority of donors chose to fund
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new scholarships. Otterbein, where 31 percent of students receive Pell grants, was a good fit for Comerford, too. So much so that he moved with his wife and three children from Illinois to Westerville. “I got lucky and attracted to Otterbein because this place from its founding has had an ethos of doing the right thing before it’s popular,” he says. “We were the first college founded co-ed in the country. We educated African
Americans before the Civil War. We had women on the faculty from the beginning. We educated Japanese Americans during WW II when they were otherwise being put in internment camps. This is a place that has consistently over its history done the right thing before it’s popular. And that’s the reason I’m here. I wouldn’t have come to a school that didn’t want to follow a strategy that was going to be different and better for our society
and for our own business.”
The crumbling ivory tower Giving students from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to go to college is a noble pursuit, and no doubt that’s what motivated Comerford to become a university president in the first place. But there’s also a compelling business case for doing so. As Comerford wrote in a May 26 op-ed in the Columbus Dispatch, as institutions July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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of higher education looked ahead to a fall semester potentially without students on campus: “Higher education’s teetering business model is now in pieces on the floor, broken beyond repair. A few institutions with billion-dollar endowments might plow ahead unfazed, but most must now face market realities,” Comerford wrote. “That means putting access and affordability first, which especially benefits traditional underserved groups of students. There will not be enough students to go around who meet the ideals of magazine rankings (high test scores, high ability to pay), so campuses will inevitably become more authentically inclusive and diverse. The democratization of learning will be a change worth celebrating.” Otterbein has the financial flexibility to deal with the pain from the Covid-19 crisis, Comerford says. But that doesn’t mean it can ignore the market demand to shift how it does business. Demographics tell part of the story: The number of 18-year-olds in Ohio and surrounding states is declining. In fact, by 2025, it’s forecast that there will be a significant—albeit only lasting a handful of years— drop in college enrollments because people all over the world stopped having babies in response to the Great Recession in 2008. By chasing students from higherincome backgrounds—the ones who typically have higher high school class ranks and test scores, which lift institutional rankings—“we are exacerbating the gap between the haves and have nots in our society,” Comerford says. “This is supposed to be a place where your own hard work, not your family’s income, determines your ability to be successful in the United States of America. And we have created a system of higher education that does the exact opposite.” As important, he thinks in an environment of shrinking freshman classes, catering to students from well-off families is a bad business model, “because those students are being sought by lots of schools, and those students have come to expect a lot of amenities,” he says. “They expect apartments, climbing walls and a Starbucks in every building, and all of those amenities cost money. So you have a declining revenue per student
“This is supposed to be a place where your own hard work, not your family’s income, determines your ability to be successful in the United States of America.”
Otterbein’s picturesque campus awaits the return of students. Will they be able to come back?
John Comerford president, Otterbein University
and an increasing cost of operating your campus. That is a failed business model that I’m afraid many four-year colleges now have.” So how does Otterbein, which has a sticker price of about $48,000 a year in tuition and residence hall expenses, ensure its own future? Buck that trend and appeal to students from lower-income families with generous financial aid packages, “signaling to students that this leafy, green, beautiful, ivycovered private college campus is for you,” he says.
Elbow-bumping Arnold Otterbein’s had some interesting visitors since Comerford became president. It hosted the fourth Democratic presidential debate last October, a reflection of the political shift in Westerville, where Barack Obama lost by nearly double digits in 2008 and 2012, but Hillary Clinton won by four points in 2016. Sunday, March 8, when the university hosted a climate change symposium in its Rike Center for sporting events, Comerford found himself elbow-bumping with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the coronavirus pandemic knocked at Ohio’s door. One thousand
people attended the town hall event put on by former Secretary of State John Kerry’s nonprofit, World War Zero, that also featured Schwarzenegger, Kerry and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who lives in Westerville and gives regular CNN updates from an office on campus. That week was pivotal. Comerford found himself that Tuesday on a call with Gov. Mike DeWine and his health director, Dr. Amy Acton, someone whose name was not familiar at the time. They told him and the other leaders on the call they had to shut down campus and finish the semester online to slow the spread of
Otterbein grads
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the novel coronavirus. That Herculean task was accomplished inside of a week. “Covid is forcing innovation to happen quicker than it would have,” Comerford told me May 22 as plans for a return to campus in the fall were being announced. “But the downsides outweigh the upsides pretty significantly, especially in the short term. If we have another surge in cases, and August arrives, and we really do have to stay online for longer, or we can’t have students in residence halls, that is financially catastrophic. “I will say, and not all in a bad way—this has been the longest academic year of my career. I think about the debate. That was just seven months ago. It feels like seven years ago. It’s crazy.”
Higher education’s a lot like retail Disruption is happening in higher education, but not dramatically, says Adam Weinberg, president of Denison University in Granville, which enjoys an $880 million endowment, more than eight times the size of Otterbein’s. Weinberg says affordability is a priority for the school, where 21
percent of students receive Pell grants. “There are more and more families and individuals struggling to find the financial resources to afford a college education, and I think this is forcing private colleges like Denison to do a better job meeting their financial aid needs.” In response, the school— where it costs $69,400 annually to live and study, but students end up paying about $37,000 after aid, according to the National Center for Education Statistics–has doubled the amount of financial aid it gives to low-income and middle-class families over the past four years, Weinberg says. Finding new customers to serve— whether that’s international students, first-generation families or careerchanging adults—is a priority at the state’s flagship public, four-year institution, too. The minds at Ohio State University are constantly “thinking about ways that we can open ourselves up to provide education that we never delivered before,” says Bruce McPheron, executive vice president and provost. “I think we’ve got real creative juices flowing here, and it’s thinking about that changing demographic at the heart of it.” Ohio Dominican University, which
was founded in the Dominican tradition of helping the less fortunate, relies on donors to help students— more than half of whom receive Pell grants—attend college there, says President Robert Gervasi. “We’re proud of the fact that our pricing is below average as compared with other independent colleges and universities,” he says. (The annual sticker price is about $46,000, and students pay about $20,000 after aid.) But we have to be very conscious that anything we do has to have value for the students. And that’s why we have a very active regimen of feedback loops. We do a lot of surveys of students and faculty and staff, just to ensure that students feel like they’re getting value for their time as well as that on-campus experience.” Surveying customers on value— like they do in the retail world, which unabashedly lives and dies by consumer sentiment. “The whole fact that nobody pays sticker prices [in higher education] is really analogous to the fact that department stores eventually got into this mode of ‘always on sale,’ ” says Bill Faust, senior partner and chief strategy officer at Columbus branding firm Ologie, which has deep experience in the higher education market across the country. “It’s really no different. It’s the same problem, just manifested in a different way. “If you look at banking, and if you look at retail, and if you look at categories that have had to evolve [with higher education really being one of the last], the thread that ties it all together is that they went from being companydriven, or in the case of higher ed, institutionally driven, to being more customer-driven,” Faust says. Like Comerford and his lively Twitter interactions with students—joking about 2 a.m. donut runs, virtually high-fiving a student for being in the New York Times, admitting he had to “pick my jaw up off the floor” the first time he saw an Otterbein student theater performance, which he anticipated would be good, but not amazing—to survive, colleges and universities are going to have to meet students on their own turf as we head into the next century of higher education. Katy Smith is editor of Columbus CEO. July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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Diversity
Open and welcoming Sam Brinker was living as a woman when he joined his law firm. Then he transitioned to life as a man. The firm didn’t blink. By Laura Newpoff + Photo by Rob Hardin
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n 2014 Sam Brinker was a third-year law student at the University of Dayton School of Law who joined Dinsmore & Shohl’s Dayton and Cincinnati offices as a summer associate. Brinker, who then had a different name, presented as a female. After that summer stint, Brinker accepted an offer to join the firm full-time after graduation in 2015. During the year in between, Brinker transitioned from female to male and thought it would be a good idea to talk with his mentor, Dinsmore Diversity Chair Marty Dunn, before his first day of work. “I told Marty that I identify as transgender and I wanted to talk about what that was going to look like when I come to the firm in the fall,” Brinker recalls. “Marty says, ‘Great, let’s get lunch and talk.’ He didn’t even flinch. I remember when we met for lunch it was a lot more of me talking and Marty listening. When you’re talking about someone’s transition, it tends to be really
Dinsmore & Shohl 191 W. Nationwide Blvd., Suite 300 Columbus 43215 dinsmore.com Business: Law firm Offices: 26 Employees: 1,270 Local employees: 124
important for the person who is not transitioning to listen, and Marty did just that.” Brinker, who joined the firm’s Columbus office in 2017, continues to build his career at Dinsmore, where he focuses on real estate law. He’s also played a key role in helping the firm establish an affinity group for LGBTQ employees and their allies. “In Law & Equity” works to make sure members of the LGBTQ community are recognized and supported at the firm and are able to have the resources they need to support causes they care about in the community.
Dinsmore also has a diversity committee and affinity groups for women, minorities and a career advancement program for diverse associates. The efforts led to Dinsmore being recognized as a top performer at last year’s Leadership Council on Legal Diversity annual meeting in Washington, D.C. It marked the second straight year the firm received the honor and the third time since 2015. Lawyers of Color also ranked the firm 17th nationally in its Black Student’s Guide to Law Schools and Firms and named Dunn to its 2019 Nation’s Best list. Women Inc. magazine has
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“We want to highlight the success of diverse attorneys and the firm is committed to that. Since the beginning of 2018, 49 percent of attorneys who have joined Dinsmore are considered diverse. That proves the firm is walking the walk.” Sam Brinker, associate and founder of LGBTQ affinity group, Dinsmore & Shohl
Sam Brinker recognized Dinsmore as a top-100 law firm for women. Columbus Partner Christian Gonzalez was also elected executive officer of the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Smooth transition
According to information from the American Bar Association, the legal profession generally is perceived as lagging other professions and industries in the area of diversity and inclusion. A report from the National Association for Law Placement found in 2018, just 2.86 percent of attorneys at major law firms identified as part
of the LGBTQ community. Dinsmore’s commitment to diversity made Brinker’s entry into the firm as a transgender man a smooth one. He’s had several mentors and has never felt the awkwardness of being unaccepted, he says. He refers to himself as a “person of considerable privilege” who has had an easier time making the transition than many others. As such, he’s become an outspoken advocate through his community work. Brinker is an ordained minister, a member of the LGBT Bar Association and a volunteer with Equitas Health Name and Gender Change Legal Clinic. He serves on the board of directors of Living with Change, a nonprofit that supports transgender youth and their families and is part of a partnership with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Brinker also is one of the LGBT Bar Association’s “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40.” “My story, my experience is so much less jagged than most other folks who are trans in the workplace,” Brinker says. “During that lunch with Marty, he made it very clear to me without any effort that there was no issue here. They were really excited I was coming to Dinsmore and I wouldn’t have to worry about anything relative to the transition. Marty said, ‘What can we do for you?’ It was all you could have asked for and it reaffirmed that this was the right place for me.” Dunn, who is a partner in the Cincinnati office, says in an email response to questions that he “knew for sure that the firm would be encouraging of Sam, but it was mostly about Sam and his mature self-awareness and determination. “Sam completed a record number of summer associate assignments, at least for his class at the time, and he wouldn’t let me forget that,” Dunn writes. “Seriously, Sam’s focus is
amazing, and I saw signs of that early on. He’s true to himself and introspective, yet he never loses sight of his critical role on the team and his desire to be supportive of others—in the firm and outside of the firm. I admired Sam’s courage and vanguard leadership at the time, but given the challenges facing our country at the moment, it’s a courage that I treasure even more as our outrage and pain lead us to vigorously fight discrimination, injustice and bigotry at all levels.”
‘Walking the walk’
In Law & Equity was formed two years ago after a group of attorneys from the Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Louisville offices got together for dinner in Cincinnati. The group was all associates and one partner, John Selent, an openly gay man in the Lousiville office. “The conversation was, we wanted to make sure that LGBTQ+ people in the law firm … felt not just tolerated— that was too small a bar—but welcomed,” Selent says. “The goal was to make that welcoming atmosphere intentional and part of our institutional culture.” The group, which is co-led by Brinker, was enthusiastically embraced by firm leadership. Firmwide, In Law & Equity has more than 200 members. It focuses on issues like trans-inclusive health care benefits, policies against discrimination and making sure mentors are available to diverse attorneys. Visibility also is a key concept of the group’s work. “We want to highlight the success of diverse attorneys and the firm is committed to that,” Brinker says. “Since the beginning of 2018, 49 percent of attorneys who have joined Dinsmore are considered diverse. That proves the firm is walking the walk.” Laura Newpoff is a freelance writer. July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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Personal finance
Investment check Illustration: istockphoto.com/MrSquid
Here are five places to put your money now. By Steve Wartenberg
T
he current economic situation—a worldwide pandemic, millions of job losses, a steep economic downturn and uncertainty about the future—is not the time to panic and change your long-term investment strategy, according to the experts. And yet, “in the 25 years I’ve been doing this, this is the hardest time to answer that (where to invest) question,” says Joel Guth, CEO of Columbus-based Gryphon Financial Partners. Nevertheless, he calls for patience and for investors to focus on two things: The goals and timeline of your investments, and “your risk tolerance and how much downside risk you can stomach.” Staying calm and sticking to the long-term plan is a sentiment other financial advisers echo. “Nobody has a crystal ball, but we’re cautiously optimistic,” says Jamie Reed, managing director for JPMorgan Private Bank and market manager for Ohio. He sees more of a U-shaped recovery than a V-shaped recovery, beginning slowly, possibly in the third quarter. “If you look at the data, things are bad, but we’re
“The answer to the question of what should I do in these times is to be clear on your investment objectives and have a sound investment process that you understand and continue to follow.” Matt Hamilton, CEO, Hamilton Capital Management
starting to see some improvement, some green shoots, and the jobless claims are starting to come down.” The new normal has created some long-term changes in society and the workplace, which in turn have created investment options. A diversified investment portfolio and an understanding of emerging business sectors, such as tech-based companies and direct-to-consumer companies that cater to the growing number of stay-at-home and work-from-home individuals, are some of the keys to the financial future. Combined with enough liquidity to get you through some short-term pain. “The answer to the question of what should I do in these times is to be clear on your investment objectives and have a sound investment process that you understand and continue to follow,” says Matt Hamilton, CEO of Hamilton Capital Management.
5G and AI are the keys
“During and post pandemic, the trend we are talking about is the digital transformation,” Reed says, adding the 5G cellular network revolution and rapid growth of artificial intelligence will help determine winners and losers and dictate investment decisions. The list of business sectors 5G and AI will impact is vast and includes data-driven health care and robotic surgery, companies that produce the semiconductors that will run 5G and how we will, or maybe even won’t,
drive in the future. “5G will impact everything from how cars travel down the road and communicate with one another to how we consume content in our leisure time,” Reed says.
Green is good
Reed also believes there’s a bright future for sustainable businesses, which are companies that have a minimal or even a positive environmental impact. “This cuts across all industries and is about how products are produced, how services are delivered and how resources are used,” he says. “People are becoming more socially conscious and when you have a movement in a certain direction, there’s an opportunity for new companies to emerge.”
Private equity
Guth believes volatility will be the norm for the next 12 to 18 months, “but over a five-year window I have incredible faith in the U.S. economy and the innovation that will occur coming out of this.” A diverse portfolio is a hedge against volatility, and investing in a private equity fund (ownership of privately held companies) is an option for more patient investors who won’t need access to these funds for at least two years. There is risk with private equity funds, but “I tell investors who can weather the current storm, especially wealthy families, that private equity is investing in
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Illustration: istockphoto.com/MrSquid
smaller businesses that will be tomorrow’s larger businesses.” Tough times can create the innovations that eventually become profitable companies. But there’s a cost to private equity— Reed says the minimum investment is about $250,000. And then there is the question of: Which private equity fund is best for me? “They’re very complex and require a lot of due diligence,” Reed says. While some individual investors have the time and expertise to do their homework and decide, for many investors, a large and well-established investment firm is the way to go. There is another private equity option, too. “There are pool vehicles for smaller investments into some private equity investments, if you can find the right adviser,” Reed says.
Hedge funds
Hedge funds are pools of money invested in securities and other types of investments. They are “limited to wealthier investors who can afford the higher fees and [higher] risks of hedge fund investing, and institutional
investors, including pension funds,” according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “Hedge funds have underperformed public markets, particularly over the past 10 years,” says Jeffrey Wilkins, a managing director at Hamilton Capital. “They can be a tricky vehicle, but hedge funds can be a very good opportunity to access certain asset classes [and] access certain kinds of credit versus ETFs [exchange-traded funds] and mutual funds because of how the underlying credit investments actually trade.” Another reason to consider a hedge fund “is to access a team with expertise which will only own a select group of what we consider attractive assets within a larger asset class,” says Lee Caleshu, a Hamilton Capital managing director, adding another benefit of hedge funds in volatile times is they “protect our clients against mass redemption during market stress. Hedge funds prevent other investors from redeeming at inopportune times and hurting all the investors in the fund.” Like private equity funds, it takes a lot of capital to get into the hedge
Dispatch
ATTRACTIONS
fund market. “It differs, but I would say we’re talking millions of dollars to get into a hedge fund that we would consider institutional quality,” Caleshu says. The top funds “want fewer investors writing larger checks,” Wilkins adds.
Work at home stocks
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a new investment strategy and catch phrase: work at home stocks, says Christian Tharp, a Columbus-based financial coach with the Adam Mesh Trading Group. “Who heard of Zoom six months ago, and they just hit a new high on earnings,” he says of the online conferencing tech company. Other e-commerce companies benefitting from more people staying and working from home are Wayfair (furniture and home goods) and Shopify (software services for websites and online businesses). “More and more people are working from home, and the markets seem to believe that won’t change even as the economy opens up,” Tharp says. Steve Wartenberg is a freelance writer.
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Health Watch: Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s patients have been dealing with even more stress than usual during Covid-19. Nursing homes are trying to help. By Laurie Allen
A
lzheimer’s disease, already a long and lonely journey, is even more so in the time of Covid-19, testing the capacities of those living with it and those who care for them. The extra precautions and restrictions necessary to protect this vulnerable population erect yet more barriers between them and the world around them. When it became clear that Covid-19 was exacting an especially dangerous toll on elderly people in congregate living settings, “our response was to minimize potential exposure to this extremely vulnerable population. Included in that was our decision to essentially lock down our facilities and in some cases prevent (patients) from even leaving their rooms,” says Dr. John Weigand, chief medical officer for National Church Residences. The organization operates in 25 states and in Ohio, where six of its 95 communities have memory care
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asabdi@alz.org
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Isolating the isolated
units. Three are in Central Ohio. “There were very real concerns about social isolation” and its impact on depression and possible decline in patients living in the organization’s memory care units, Weigand says. “Patients for the most part are social. In memory care units, social contact is one of the things that grounds them. That’s been a real challenge for staff.” Linda Roehrenbeck is executive director at National Church Residences, Mill Run, which has a memory care unit. She says there is no one-sizefits-all solution for dementia patients. A common response during the quarantine has been for patients to stop or reduce eating. Many families bring food when they visit, and mealtime becomes more than a meal. They now leave food in the foyer, along with cards and pictures to tap into long-term memories, Roehrenbeck says. “Sometimes it’s the only stability (patients) have left.” Even something as commonplace as masks can cause agitation and fear among those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, says Trey Addison, state public policy director for the Alzheimer’s Association. “Masks are on a laundry list of complications. (Covid) throws another wrench in the situation.” To respond to these challenges, the Alzheimer’s Association and longterm care facilities are upping their online presence and devising on-site solutions to break down barriers. The association has moved its
support and education programs to an online format, and recently restarted its arts program online, with a painter/instructor guiding patients who use materials they have at home. “Our ability to connect virtually is getting better each week, and as people have gotten more comfortable, we’ve had the opportunity to bring more people into the fold,” says Vince McGrail, executive director and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Ohio chapter. The association encourages families to use its help line, 800-2723900, available 24/7, 365 days a year. The organization’s website contains a page dedicated to Covid information for caregivers (including professionals) at alz.org/covid19. The Alzheimer’s Association and the Ohio Health Care Association, which represents the state’s long-term care and assisted living communities as well as home care and hospice providers, have created a tip sheet for families about topics like Facetime and window visits and the added confusion patients now experience. It also has held webinars and town halls addressing the fears and frustrations of those caring for an Alzheimer’s patient at home. “For the caregiver at home it’s yet another version of isolation, and the level of strain is unimaginable,” Addison says. McGrail says the stress now is twofold: the isolation of being home, and the strain of being physically separated from loved ones in long-term care or assisted living facilities.
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So powerful is the connection that some multilingual Alzheimer’s patients revert back to their first language, Roehrenbeck says. They also have shown increased repetitive speech or motion, clinging and emotional detachment. “So we bring in extra layers through music’’ and similar activities. At the same time, some patients need fewer stressors like light or sound. The facility uses the CohenMansfield Agitation Inventory, a 29-item scale to systematically assess agitation and address it in residents. “There is no one way to do this. With this patient population there is a lot of walking. They walk holding hands with a friend. They lack the insight to grasp the dangers,” Roehrenbeck says. It can be especially hard for families unable to see how their loved ones are doing inside the building, so patients make cards that say, “I’m OK,” or “It’s a good day for me,” that they share on a newly created private Facebook page. Roehrenbeck says the page “has become a community within a community. Everybody is family.” Meeting the additional needs of
“Patients for the most part are social. In memory care units, social contact is one of the things that grounds them. That’s been a real challenge for staff.” Dr. John Weigand, chief medical officer, National Church Residences
enabling audio/video visits or the extra time required for meal preparation and delivery has meant increasing staff, and thereby costs. Weigand says National Church Residences also has paid increased hourly wages. The Alzheimer’s Association also feels the weight. “We are struggling on the revenue side,” McGrail says. The association canceled a major fundraising gala in May but hopes to go on with its annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s Sept. 27 at Columbus Commons. Nearly 5,000 people participated in last year’s walk, which raised more than $881,000. What this year’s event will look like is a work in progress, he says, but “there definitely will be a virtual component. We’re working on how to have something meaningful and powerful.” From real-time decisions that impact fragile people’s lives to interpreting published Covid cases at each facility, “This is an unprecedented time,” Weigand says. “I think you need to provide a lot of grace to people.” Laurie Allen is a freelance writer.
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Special Advertising Section
Virtual
Roundtable
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O u t l o o k
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2 0 2 0
Featuring Grandbridge Real Estate Capital Ray Paprocki, (CEO): Commercial
real estate usually lags the general economy when we have downturns. The COVID-19 impact was immediate. Has that been true in the Columbus region?
Ted Schmidt: My comments relate
Columbus CEO recently spoke with three senior vice presidents at Grandbridge Real Estate Capital via a video conference call on June 9 about the economic outlook for commercial real estate amidst a global pandemic. Topics ranged from the impact on such asset classes as hospitality and industrial to pent-up demand for investment. Here is an edited and condensed version of that conversation. Transcript provided by PRI Court Reporting.
to the retail and hospitality side of the business. I think the impacts were immediate in those sectors. Retail activity has been significantly curtailed. In fact, it’s virtually nonexistent in the many closed stores. However, just in the last 10 days or so, we’re beginning to see some loosening of the restrictions and people are beginning to show some signs of normalcy. On the hospitality side, 50 percent of the hotels in the industry are closed currently. Although, once again, some of those properties are beginning to open up again. And so while that’s going to be a much slower recovery, we’re optimistic about that. I don’t think we’ll see any new development in the near term in hotels.
Moderated by Ray Paprocki, publisher/general manager, Columbus CEO Photographs courtesy Grandbridge Real Estate Capital
Craig Kegg: From an office perspective, the question is will companies use the money that they’ve invested in
Kenneth Bowen
senior vice president/office manager
Craig Kegg senior vice president
Ted Schmidt senior vice president
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technology and allow people to continue to work at home—therefore, needing less square footage in the office building that they occupy? Alternatively, will they say no, we really want to have all of our employees back in the office, and therefore we need more square footage than we currently have because we need to honor social distancing. I think the office segment as a whole will lag a little bit relative to the other asset classes. Although I will tell you that from the folks that we’re speaking with that are in that space, office is still doing OK. Industrial will not lag. It’s one of the strongest asset classes and we are going to continue to see the development of new industrial opportunities. We really are seeing that there is very little impact in this particular asset class because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Ken Bowen: As far as multi-family
goes, it hasn’t been hurting despite the nervousness due to people being furloughed. What’s not clear in many cases is whether it’s held up because the government has been mailing checks to individuals, or whether it’s because people value their home even more than they used to. So far so good in multi-family.
CEO: Where do you think each of
these sectors may be as we enter into 2021?
Bowen: There are a lot of people
taking precautions for the downside, including the government providing loans and sending individuals checks etc., including borrowers who are holding onto their cash to make sure they can weather a downturn. I think, in general, real estate sales volume will be down on the commercial side simply because of the uncertainty in the market about whether we’ll have an increase in COVID-19 cases in the fall. The big question overall has been did we really have a major economic downturn or do we simply have a shortterm economic blip because people are being safe for health reasons.
Kegg: I’m actually very bullish on where we will be as we transition through and go to the end of the year. It’s all going to come down to a tenant’s ability to pay. Whether you’re a renter in a multi-family property or whether you’re a tenant in a retail center or industrial, I think that’s ultimately going to be the driver. We need to get through these next 30, 60, 90 days. We need to get through all of the stimulus. Once that happens, everything will be on level ground and everybody’s kind of got through this. I think we’re going to be fine. There continues to be new development. We’re talking to clients every day that are bringing projects out of the ground. I was speaking with someone earlier today and they were saying that this has actually been really good for them because they’ve actually been able to accelerate the development table on a project. So they’re going to deliver early. Schmidt: I can add on the investment
sales side, each of us is receiving calls every day from our clients who have investable cash and are looking for opportunities. So there’s this disconnect right now between the investor who’s got money and is looking for opportunity and the properties that are available for sale. People are looking for value, and the sellers are not quite yet feeling there’s any reason to sell because they think we’re going to get through this. With respect to the lenders, we need to remember that all of these insurance companies for whom we invest, and the government, FHA, Freddie and Fannie, they’ve all got huge programs and they need to fulfill those programs; meaning, they have to invest their money in mortgages. So while there are some new restrictions and a lot of our lenders are taking a pause, I think very quickly you’re going to see some very vibrant capital markets. At least that’s what we’re anticipating, particularly with the interest rates where they are.
Bowen: The lenders in general are
not going to want to foreclose. A lot of hotel loans, they went from 85 percent
“We really are seeing that there is very little impact in [the industrial] asset class because of the COVID-19 crisis.” - Craig Kegg
occupancy to 15 percent, but they’re back on the upswing. So if they can make it through a period, they’re more likely to have some fresh capital come in to help them. They’ll have to give up some of their equity or something, but it’s not like there’s going to be a slew of foreclosures.
Schmidt: I think we can add that most
of the lenders who have a hospitality asset are looking at this as a short-term event and they’re willing to give some forbearance—convert to interest only or defer the payments—because the investor does not want to own all of these hotels. They want the professionals who are their borrowers to recover.
CEO: What about the ability to finance right now?
Bowen: We have the government-
sponsored entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they’re mission driven. There are FHA insurance programs that are very strong and active right now. Grandbridge has a huge pipeline of FHA loans. Many lenders are not saying we won’t lend because of COVID-19. They’re just taking extra measures in case rent collections go down to make sure that the borrowers are able to get through. For instance, they might take six months’ worth of debt service reserve as an additional escrow until the pandemic is over and the property proves out its performance over some period of 90 days or something like that after the loan closes and after everyone’s gone back to work. And how much that debt service reserve will be depends upon the nature of the transaction. If there’s a lot of cash out, they’ll probably want more. If it’s an acquisition financing with fresh cash going in, they might waive that, depending upon the total picture.
Kegg: In the insurance space, I’m not going to say we’re going to make it all the way back to where we were before the pandemic, but we certainly see progress there. Will the normal be a little bit different? It will be. We’re seeing a little bit tighter compression on loan to values. We’re seeing a little bit more conservative approach to cash flow underwriting. But I think, like all of this, as we get more data points, especially in the insurance segment of what we do, which
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is all about data points and all about expenses and all about feeling good about what they’ve done, I suspect that once this fully gets back into a trot, you know, we’ll get to a gallop pretty quickly after that. And I think that we’re already starting to see that. We’re in the market with some deals that 30, 45 days ago the life insurance lender said, hey, not right now, and now they’re calling us and saying, you know those deals that we talked about, it might be time to dust them off.
Schmidt: My comments relate to the
banking segment. Before I do that, let me just emphasize a point we made earlier. All of these insurance company investors have business models that require them to invest money and they plan to invest a certain amount and those plans are off track because of COVID-19. Same thing is true with Freddie and Fannie that Ken was talking about. Each of those lenders have a mandate to commit 100 billion annually-think about that number—100 billion dollars of multi-family apartment lending across their programs, each
of them, and they’re behind because of this disruption. And these business models need to be put in perspective, because if we assume this is just a short-term blip, all of these lenders, whether they be insurance companies or agency lenders, are going to be active. Coming to the banks, it’s really a tale of two different enterprises: The larger banks, our larger banks here in town—our own parent, Truist—they’re dealing primarily with their portfolios and are only interested in new loans to their existing customers. In other words, the major banks are in a pause and taking care of the assets that they have on the books. By contrast, and particularly here in Columbus, there is a very significant community bank and regional bank presence, and if you can think about Columbus as being the magnet of a lot of activity in central Ohio, then you can think about all the community banks around the state and they need places to invest their assets. Consequently, there’s a lot of competition for loans in Central Ohio. If you have a good project, and you’re
a good quality borrower, even in this market you’re going to find these community and regional banks active and willing to talk to you. Not so true of our major banks.
Bowen: The banks don’t necessarily
have the kind of targets that the insurance companies have. The insurance companies are bringing in all these life insurance premiums, which they need to invest somewhere. At the beginning of the year, they’ll say we’re going to put 10 percent toward mortgages, so that’s a billion dollars, say, and they like to stick to that. But the insurance companies, if they meet their billion, they’re done for the year. This year we believe they’re going to be behind and have a lot to lend in the late part of the year, and if the economy continues to reopen and improve, they’ll be very active and very competitive.
CEO: Specifically with the asset
classes that have been discussed, which ones are more vulnerable and which ones are in a stronger position going forward?
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“This pandemic is going to accelerate and cause some rethinking of that whole segment of retail and what will happen to all of that space.” - Ted Schmidt
trend has reversed and we’re going to return to more of a suburban sprawl kind of world. But whether that’s really going to be long-term or not, it remains to be seen.
Bowen: What we haven’t talked about
CEO: What are some of the signs
is the quality of location. Every piece of real estate is individual and unique. And even look at retail, where some new retail developments that are going forward and have no concern about being able to attract tenants because of the high quality location, say, on Lane Avenue in Upper Arlington. Hospitality has been hurting, but we’ve also seen, for instance, an appetite for a new development in the Hocking Hills where people building luxury cabins are attracting mortgage construction financing because, well, that location works perfect in a pandemic where people want to drive to vacation instead of flying, or they want to have their own cabin instead of being in a high-rise building touching elevator buttons.
CEO: With crisis accelerating change,
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital Grandbridge, once known as Collateral Mortgage, has been an active mortgage banking company in Columbus for over 20 years. Through different mergers and acquisitions, it is now a subsidiary of the sixth largest bank in the country, Truist, which was formed in late 2019 by the merger of BB&T and SunTrust. The company has over 20 production offices coast-to-coast that produced over $10 billion in commercial mortgage loans last year. Its typical role as a mortgage banking company is to originate the loan, close it for the investor and continue an ongoing relationship as the mortgage servicer processing the payments and monitoring the property for the life of the loan. Grandbridge now services over $72 billion in loans for a variety of investors, including all the government-sponsored entities and many life insurance companies.
what sort of permanent changes will we see?
Schmidt: I think you could state the
obvious: The retail segment is going to be under extensive pressure and change. I heard Mickey Drexler speak on television this past week. He’s the former chairman of J. Crew. And all he said was that the whole casual shopping experience, which there are dozens of different retailers competing—first, they have the online delivery pressure, but secondly, there’s way too many of them trying to compete for the same shopper. This pandemic is going to accelerate and, for lack of a better word, cause some rethinking of that whole segment of retail and what will happen to all of that space.
Kegg: We’ve also seen a little bit of effect on new multi-family developments. Some of our developers that we work with are anticipating the idea of more remote working. So they’re looking at changing unit floor plans to include spaces that accommodate that type of daily activity more readily. Adding more compartmentalized space versus working at your dining room table or your coffee table. They’re thinking do we put a small space in that serves as an office so you can actually have some separation and move away. Secondly, infrastructure. They’re really thinking about bandwidth and fiber optic. I mean, they did that before, but if this idea of working from home continues, they’re going to have increased demand on that infrastructure, so they’re rethinking this in new projects and trying to figure out ways to upgrade in older projects to accommodate this possibility. Bowen: There have been some trends
that do seem to be reversing at the moment. There’s a trend toward more clustering—a growing acceptance of the idea that it’s good for people to live close together. It’s more environmental, there’s a lot less wasted energy, the whole ride share, the whole sharing economy. That
that will indicate that we’re starting to stabilize?
Bowen: I think on the capital side,
when the lenders are comfortable going back to the loan-to-value ratios that they had been before the pandemic, like 75 percent instead of only 65 percent with the insurance companies, or with the agencies maybe not requiring those debt service reserves. Those will be signs that things are back to normal in the real estate market.
Kegg: Once we start to see transaction velocity pick up—both on the investment sales side and on the lending side—over the next 60, 90, 120 days I think that will be a sign that we’re moving to stabilization. Bowen: When the pandemic hit,
people didn’t stop looking for new deals to buy. They’re not in a rush to make offers, but I was surprised by how many properties have actually come to the market. Again, they’re giving people plenty of time to vet the potential investment. They’re like, well, might as well put it on the market now and let people start looking at it. Instead of accepting offers in 30 days, we’ll wait 60 or 90. But they’re still interested in selling, if that was their original plan.
CEO: We covered a lot of territory. Is there anything we haven’t discussed that you’d like to address?
Bowen: I just think that it’s impor-
tant—in terms of what the government can do—to let the economy reopen. Like Gov. DeWine has said, there’s risk in opening and there’s also risk in not opening. So let the economy return to normal, let people get off of government subsidy, let the Treasury continue to support the markets with a certain amount of liquidity. Don’t give up on the U.S. economy in general, and remember that real estate is a long-term asset that can’t be replaced. They’re not making any more land.
46 ColumbusCEO l July 2020
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042-047_Roundtable_CEO_July2020.indd 47
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Commerical Mortgage Lenders Ranked by total Central Ohio value of loans originated in 2019
COMPANY
CENTRAL OHIO VALUE OF LOANS ORIGINATED IN 2019
NUMBER OF CENTRAL OHIO FIRST-TIME COMMERCIAL LOANS ORIGINATED IN 2019
LARGEST CENTRAL OHIO COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE LOAN IN 2019
TYPES OF LOANS AVAILABLE PRINCIPAL LOAN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
CENTRAL OHIO SENIOR COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE LENDING OFFICER
Office, retail, apartment, industrial, senior housing and health care
Brian Kelleher
1
JLL Capital Markets 6209 Riverside Drive Suite 150, Dublin 43017 614-698-3000 us.jll.com
$261.8 m
13
$43 m
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, life company, debt fund
International Director
2
Heartland Bank 430 N. Hamilton Road Whitehall 43213 614-416-4601 heartland.bank
$248.9 m
269
$24.9 m
Office, retail, apartment, industrial, medical, warehouse, hotel
Laurie Pfeiffer
Commercial real estate mortgages, term loans, working capital loans, SBA program participation
SVP, Director of Commercial Banking
Retail, apartment
Vernon Morrison
3
Lighthouse Commercial Mortgage 1335 Holly Avenue #B Columbus 43212 614-481-6088 lighthousecommercial.com
$32.6 m
17
$5.1 m
Apartments, mobile home parks, industrial, self-storage, retail
Managing Director
4
Kemba Financial Credit Union 5555 Renner Road Gahanna 43230 614-729-1310 kemba.org
$32 m
67
$11.9 m
Office, retail, apartment, industrial, medical, warehouse, hotel Commercial mortgages, lines of credit, equipment loans, vehicle loans
The CEO Leaderboard features selected topics each month. The September Leaderboards will feature Central logistics firms and nonprofit organizations. The deadline for inclusion in those surveys is July 6. If you want your Central Ohio company to be considered for an upcoming CEO Leaderboard, contact Rebecca Walters at rwalters@columbusCEO.com. Information included in this survey was provided by companies listed and was not independently verified.
048-049_Leaderboard_CommericalMortgage.indd 49
Don Guilbert Director of Commercial Services
m = million Source: Survey of Commercial Mortgage Lenders Information compiled by rebecca walters
July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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6/18/20 1:44 PM
Ra
Committed to Columbus Connected Across the World
1
2
We are proud to bring best-in-class talent and leadership to the business opportunities and challenges you face, whether around the corner or around the globe.
3
17 of our Columbus office lawyers are recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2020.
4
David W. Alexander Gregory R. Daniels
5
Christopher J. Franzmann John R. Gall Donald W. Hughes
6
Thomas F. Kibbey Jill S. Kirila
7
Steven F. Mount Peter A. Pavarini Michael D. Saad
8
Kendra S. Sherman Alex Shumate Keith Shumate
9
Fred A. Summer Lee A. Wendel Karen Winters
10
C. Craig Woods
Local Connections. Global Influence. 45 Offices in 20 Countries squirepattonboggs.com
050-054_Leaderboard_LawFirms.indd 50
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s
e
.
Central Ohio Law Firms
Ranked by number of Central Ohio full-time attorneys and for ties, by number of local employees and firmwide full-time attorneys
Firm 1 Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease
52 E. Gay St., Columbus 43215 614-545-6707 vorys.com
2 Porter Wright Morris & Arthur
41 S. High St., Suite 2800-3200, Columbus 43215 • 614-227-2000 porterwright.com
3 Bricker & Eckler
100 S. Third St., Columbus 43215 614-227-2300 bricker.com
4 Dinsmore & Shohl
191 W. Nationwide Blvd., Suite 300 Columbus 43215 614-628-6880 dinsmore.com
5 Squire Patton Boggs (US)
2000 Huntington Center, 41 S. High St., Columbus 43215 614-365-2700 • squirepattonboggs.com
6 Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter 65 E. State St., Suite 1800 Columbus 43215 • 614-462-5400 keglerbrown.com
7 Bailey Cavalieri
10 W. Broad St., Suite 2100 Columbus 43215 • 614-229-3258 baileycav.com
8 Isaac Wiles Burkholder & Teetor
2 Miranova Place, Suite 700, Columbus 43215 • 614-221-2121 isaacwiles.com
9 Thompson Hine
41 S. High St., Suite 1700 Columbus 43215 • 614-469-3200 thompsonhine.com
10 Dickinson Wright
150 E. Gay St., Suite 2400 Columbus 43215 • 614-744-2570 dickinsonwright.com
Central ohio
Firmwide
FT Attorneys
FT Attorneys
FT Employees
FT Employees
170 184
353 265
123 111
214 188
108 109
Noteworthy Clients in Central Ohio
Managing Partner in Central Ohio
Primary Areas of Practice
96
Big Lots, L Brands, M/I Homes, Honda of America Mfg., Scotts Miracle-Gro
Michael Martz
Corporate, labor/ employment, litigation/trial practice
63
American Electric Power, Crane Group, Designer Brands, Huntington National Bank, Rocky Brands
Robert Tannous
Corporate, labor/ employment, litigation/trial practice
128 127
70
Riverside Methodist Hospital/OhioHealth; Enbridge/Spectra Energy; Huntington National Bank; Nationwide
James Flynn
Corporate, energy/ utilities, health care
82 42
675 595
41
na
Stacey Borowicz
Corporate, health care, litigation/trial practice
73 40
1,358 1,072
35
Advanced Drainage Systems, Nationwide, Ohio Capital Corp. for Housing, New Albany Dev. Corp., Columbus Partnership
Alex Shumate
Corporate, environmental, litigation/trial practice
70 50
71 51
42
Donatos, Piada Group, Charles Penzone Family of Salons, Capital City Group
Chris Weber
Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, government affairs
53 26
54 26
28
Nationwide Insurance, Mount Carmel Health System, Alliance Data, Park National Bank
Robert Dunn
Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, probate/estates/ trusts
53 90
53 37
40
COTA, State of Ohio, Lifestyle Communities, Nourse Family of Dealerships, Roosters
Mark Landes
Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, municipal
34 21
377 347
16
Nationwide Insurance; Diamond Hill Funds; Columbus Zoo; Huntington Bank; R+L Carriers
Michael Wible
Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, investment management
33 10
490 372
17
Columbus Museum of Art, Huntington National Bank, Rockbridge Capital, Kaufman Development, Hawthorne Hydroponics
Harlan Robins
Corporate, education, real property/ construction
partners in central ohio
The CEO Leaderboard features selected topics each month. The September Leaderboards will feature Central Ohio logistics firms and nonprofit organizations. The deadline for inclusion in those surveys is July 6. If you want your Central Ohio company to be considered for an upcoming CEO Leaderboard, contact Rebecca Walters at rwalters@columbusCEO.com. Information included in this survey was provided by companies listed and was not independently verified.
050-054_Leaderboard_LawFirms.indd 51
wnd = would not disclose na = not applicable Source: Survey of Law Firms Information compiled by Rebecca walters
July 2020 l ColumbusCEO
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Central Ohio Law Firms
Ranked by number of Central Ohio full-time attorneys and for ties, by number of local employees and firmwide full-time attorneys
Firm 11 Barnes & Thornburg
41 S. High St., Suite 3300 Columbus 43215 • 614-628-0096 btlaw.com
12 Benesch
41 S. High St., Suite 2600 Columbus 43215 • 614-223-9300 beneschlaw.com
13 Reminger Co.
200 Civic Center Drive, Suite 800 Columbus 43215 • 614-228-1311 reminger.com
14 Roetzel & Andress
41 S. High Street, Huntington Center, 21st floor, Columbus, 43215 • 614-463-9770 ralaw.com
15 Lane Alton
2 Miranova Place, Suite 220 Columbus 43215 • 614-228-6885 lanealton.com
16 Strip Hoppers Leithart McGrath & Terlecky
575 S. Third St., Columbus 43215 614-228-6345 columbuslawyer.net
17 Onda LaBuhn Rankin & Boggs Co.
35 N. Fourth St., Suite 100 Columbus 43215 • 614-716-0500 olrblaw.com
18 Ulmer & Berne
65 E. State St., Suite 1100 Columbus 43215 • 614-229-0000 ulmer.com
19 Mac Murray & Shuster
6525 W.Campus Oval, Suite 210 New Albany 43054 • 614-939-9955 mslawgroup.com
20 Dagger Law
144 E. Main St., Lancaster 43130 740-653-6464 daggerlaw.com
wnd = would not disclose na = not applicable Source: Survey of Law Firms Information compiled by Rebecca walters
52 ColumbusCEO l July 2020
050-054_Leaderboard_LawFirms.indd 52
Central ohio
Firmwide
FT Attorneys
FT Attorneys
FT Employees
FT Employees
24 17
625 550
24 12
254 159
24 19
156 220
21 10
165 142
16 9
Noteworthy Clients in Central Ohio
Managing Partner in Central Ohio
wnd
Bill Nolan
Health care, litigation/ trial practice, real property/construction
19
Cardinal Health, Ohio Living, LSP Technologies
Frank Carsonie
Copyright/trademark/ patent, health care, litigation/trial practice, real property/ construction
18
wnd
Ronald Fresco
Commercial, litigation/ trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts
9
Cedar Enterprises, Walgreens, Speedway, Marathon Petroleum, FirstEnergy
Erika Haupt
Litigation/trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts, government relations/ public Law
23 9
21
Cincinnati Insurance, Huntington National Bank, 7-Eleven, Medical Protective, Team Health
Gregory Rankin
Banking/finance, litigation/trial practice, medical malpractice
14 7
14 7
9
na
John Hoppers
Litigation/trial practice, probate/ estates/trusts, bankruptcy
12 3
12 3
5
Hondros College, Prime Equipment Group, M Engineering, Shremshock Architects, Healthy Pets
Robert Onda
Corporate, litigation/ trial practice, real property/construction
11 7
164 150
6
wnd
Alexander Andrews
Copyright/trademark/ patent, corporate, litigation/trial practice
11 15
11 15
wnd
Michele Shuster
Consumer protection law, privacy and data security, litigation/ class-action defense
11 14
11 14
wnd
Jeff Spangler
Banking/finance, family/juvenile, general practice, personal injury, probate/estates/trusts
partners in central ohio
13
4 7
Primary Areas of Practice
The CEO Leaderboard features selected topics each month. The September Leaderboards will feature Central Ohio logistics firms and nonprofit organizations. The deadline for inclusion in those surveys is July 6. If you want your Central Ohio company to be considered for an upcoming CEO Leaderboard, contact Rebecca Walters at rwalters@columbusCEO.com. Information included in this survey was provided by companies listed and was not independently verified.
6/18/20 1:45 PM
gation/ eal ruction
ection d data on/ fense
ntral ou Walters
050-054_Leaderboard_LawFirms.indd 53
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Central Ohio Law Firms
Ranked by number of Central Ohio full-time attorneys and for ties, by number of local employees and firmwide full-time attorneys
Firm 21 Allen Stovall Neuman Fisher & Ashton
17 S. High St., Suite 1220 Columbus 43215 • 614-221-8500 asnfa.com
22 Friedman & Mirman
1320 Dublin Road, Suite 101 Columbus 43215 • 614-221-0090 friedmanmirman.com
23 Grossman Law Offices
32 W. Hoster St., Suite 100 Columbus, OH 43215 • 614-221-7711 grossmanlawoffices.com
24 Collins Roche, Utley & Garner
655 Metro Place South, Suite 200 Dublin 43017 • 614-901-9600 cruglaw.com
25 Weston Hurd
10 W. Broad St., Suite 2400 Columbus 43215 • 614-280-0200 westonhurd.com
26 Mowery Youell & Galeano 485 Metro Place South, Suite 220 Dublin 43017 • 614-764-1444 myglaw.com
27 Fisher Phillips
250 West St., Suite 400, Columbus 43215 • 614-221-1425 fisherphillips.com/offices-columbus
28 Sowald Sowald Anderson Hawley & Johnson
400 S. 5th St., Suite 1011, Columbus 43215 • 614-464-1877 sowaldlaw.com
29 Resch Root Philipps & Graham
5115 Parkcenter Ave., Suite 275 Dublin 43017 • 614-760-1801 rrpg-law.com
30 Decker Vonau
620 E. Broad St., Suite 200 Columbus 43215 • 614-744-4102 deckervonau.com
wnd = would not disclose na = not applicable Source: Survey of Law Firms Information compiled by Rebecca walters
54 ColumbusCEO l July 2020
050-054_Leaderboard_LawFirms.indd 54
Central ohio
Firmwide
FT Attorneys
FT Attorneys
FT Employees
FT Employees
8 2
8 2
6
na
na
Litigation/trial practice, taxation, bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring
8 8
8 8
3
wnd
Denise Mirman
Family/juvenile
8 6
8 6
1
wnd
Andrew Grossman
Family/juvenile
7 5
20 13
8
Westfield Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Progressive Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Erie Insurance
Managing committee
Insurance, litigation/ trial practice, real property/construction
7 5
42 27
5
Acuity, Auto-Owners, CNA, Kroger, XL Group
Kevin Bush
Insurance, litigation/ trial practice, real property/construction
7 12
7 12
2
wnd
Judith Galeano
Family/juvenile, health care, labor/ employment
6 10
400 200
5
Ricart Automotive, Adecco, Olshan Properties, Bundy Baking Solutions
Steven Loewengart
Labor/employment, litigation/ trial practice, workers’ compensation
6 4
6 4
5
wnd
Heather Sowald
Family/juvenile, probate/estates/trusts
4 1
4 1
3
wnd
William Root
Estate planning
4 6
4 6
3
wnd
James Vonau
Corporate, probate/ estates/trusts, real property/construction
partners in central ohio
Noteworthy Clients in Central Ohio
Managing Partner in Central Ohio
Primary Areas of Practice
The CEO Leaderboard features selected topics each month. The September Leaderboards will feature Central Ohio logistics firms and nonprofit organizations. The deadline for inclusion in those surveys is July 6. If you want your Central Ohio company to be considered for an upcoming CEO Leaderboard, contact Rebecca Walters at rwalters@columbusCEO.com. Information included in this survey was provided by companies listed and was not independently verified.
6/18/20 1:45 PM
Wouldn’t you like to be looking at your home? Ask your Realtor to market your home in the Executive Living section of Columbus CEO Magazine!
East of I-71 call Telana Veil at (614) 469-6106 or e-mail at tveil@dispatch.com West of I-71 call Amy Vidrick at (614) 461-5153 or e-mail at avidrick@dispatch.com
MICHAEL SAUNDERS & COMPANY
LEPI & ASSOCIATES REAL ESTATE
Leslie Emery & Aaron Corr (941) 400-9710 www.beach2barn.com
Roberta “Bobbi” Lepi (740) 891-1068 blepi@ lepirealestate.com
1250 PERINE RD, ZANESVILLE - The views are worth a million bucks! If you are looking for a beautiful retreat to get away from city life, this custom Hearthstone log home situated on 273 +/acres is just for you. A great place for the equestrian lover, or multiple families to enjoy with separate living quarters over the oversized garage. Bring in some additional income from the crop lease, and enjoy your own private place to hunt and enjoy nature! Visit all the details at www.1250Perine.com
From sand to sunsets and live oaks to acreage, Florida is calling to you. Team Beach2Barn is your Buckeye connection to your new Florida dream home and lifestyle! Our passion for hands-on service provides you a knowledgeable and trustworthy experience, before and after closing. For new construction or re-sale, we look forward to working with you.
KELLER WILLIAMS CLASSIC PROPERTIES
KELLER WILLIAMS CLASSIC PROPERTIES
Jim & Betsy Edwards (614) 325-1920 Jim_Betsy@kw.com
Jim & Betsy Edwards (614) 325-1920 Jim_Betsy@kw.com
STONE RANCH ON .48 ACRE CORNER LOT - in Desirable Canterbury, Upper Arlington! Vaulted Entry, Hardwood floors throughout. 4,726SF. Great/Game Rm 30’ x 35’ w/ lg stone fireplace, Kitchen has loads of cabinets & Granite counters! Vaulted family rm w/ beautiful fireplace! Master Retreat is 20’ x 32’. $1,295,000
9/6/19 10:22 AM
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RESORT LIKE HOME ON 2.4 ACRE ESTATE LOT IN UA - Over 7,300 SF of thoughtfully planned rooms! Every room in the home overlooks the park like rear acreage! Spectacular 1st flr owners ste, spacious custom kitchen, Great Rm w/ entertaining rm & bar, LL spills out onto the salt water pool & deck area overlooking the Tennis/Sports Court! $2,000,000
KELLER WILLIAMS CLASSIC PROPERTIES
RE/MAX TOWN CENTER
Jim & Betsy Edwards (614) 325-1920 Jim_Betsy@kw.com
Joe and Patty Evans (614) 975-7355 www.joeandpattyevans. realestate Fabulous UA Updated 2 Story (3,694SF) Centrally Located To Elem., Middle & HS plus Shopping, Downtown, OSU & Airport! Beautiful Owners Suite, 3 More BRs with 2 Full Baths and a unique gathering area upstairs! Spacious renovated Kitchen, Dining Rm, Dinette and 400+SF Great Room! 1st Flr Office/ Bonus area. Wonderful outdoor patio that leads to the side yard! $895,000
9/19/19 3:02 PM
WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO BE LOOKING AT YOUR HOME?
LUXURY GROUP AUCTIONS (800) 801-8003 luxurygroupauctions. com/GatesMills
Ask your Realtor to market your home in the Executive Living section of Columbus Monthly Magazine!
REAL ESTATE AUCTION 12PM JULY 17 Gates Mills 1250 Fox Hill Drive. 6BR 6.5BA 8,607+/- sf luxury estate on 11+/- ac. Open: 1-4pm Sun 6/21 & 6/28 or by appt. only. Bid on site or online. Buyer’s Premium may apply. Daniel Nelson RE LIC BRKP.2018002343
054_055_ExLiv.indd 55
3017 NW MOUNTS RD, ALEXANDRIA - Gorgeous custom home w/over 10,000 SF, SEVEN CAR GARAGES, ELEVATOR to ALL FLOORS, OBSERVATION DECK on 3.84 acres. THERMADOR appliances & GRANITE countertops in kitchen. WALKOUT LL IS OPEN and ready for your pool table, ping pong table, and any other fun game ideas. Basement access to the HOT TUB & SALTWATER INGROUND POOL.
East of I-71 call Telana Veil at (614) 469-6106 or e-mail at tveil@dispatch.com West of I-71 call Amy Vidrick at (614) 461-5153 or e-mail at avidrick@dispatch.com
6/18/20 10:02 AM
Office Space By laura newpoff + Photos by Rob Hardin
NAI Ohio Equities 605 S. Front St. Columbus 43215 ohioequities.com
The commercial real estate brokerage has overhauled its 18,000-square-foot office in the Brewery District.
Communal kitchen
A big part of the new office design is a bigger kitchen that incorporates several seating areas so employees have room to gather away from their desks.
Making it personal
An employee appreciation wall recognizes the names and faces that make the firm run.
It’s your serve
The firm encourages collaboration in a variety of ways, including ping-pong matches.
Happy space
A lounge area that leads to an outdoor patio is the prime spot for impromptu happy hours for workers and guests.
First impressions
The waiting area for guests features a coffee bar with a company video, timeline and team wall that help visitors learn about NAI.
Custom craftsmanship
A Carpenter’s Son Design Co. created an eye-catching custom desk for NAI Ohio Equities President Mike Simpson.
The NAI story
From its founding to today, NAI’s history is laid out in a company timeline created during the renovation. Visit columbusCEO.com for a full article on the space.
56 ColumbusCEO l July 2020
056_OfficeSpace.indd 56
6/18/20 2:11 PM
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