20120326-NEWS--9-NAT-CCI-CL_--
3/22/2012
3:32 PM
Page 1
MARCH 26 - APRIL 1, 2012
CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM
9
When going got tough, outgoing United Way boss kept going Lauded for business acumen, retiring Benz leaves behind ‘steady’ and ‘reliable’ nonprofit
total of more than $750 million.
Cleveland’s cheerleader
By TIMOTHY MAGAW tmagaw@crain.com
When asked to sit down with a reporter to discuss his more than 40-year career entrenched in Cleveland’s business and nonprofit sectors, K. Michael Benz made clear he wasn’t interested in the spotlight until every last dollar was raised for the United Way of Greater Cleveland’s most recent campaign. Having reached that roughly $40.1 million benchmark earlier this month, it still took the soon-to-retire Mr. Benz some prodding to get him to open up about himself rather than gush about the countless others who have helped make so rewarding his 17-year run at the helm of the region’s United Way, two stints with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and periods at the city’s chamber of commerce and small business advocacy group. “There are no lone rangers,” said Mr. Benz, 64, the organization’s longest-running president, who plans to step down this summer when his successor is named. “Sorry to break the news, but it’s a together deal. It’s a community boat. … If the boat starts going down, we’re all getting wet.” Still, business leaders who have worked closely with Mr. Benz over the years weren’t shy about rattling off how he’s made Cleveland a better place to live and do business. They say he’s one of those Cleveland stalwarts everyone in the region seems to know or, at least, wants to know. “Mike knows everybody, and I think that is part of what’s made him so successful,” said retired KeyCorp chairman Henry L. Meyer III, a former United Way board chair. “But he not only knows everybody, but everybody who knows him respects him. That gets a lot done.”
Mr. Fix-it Mr. Benz was somewhat of an unconventional pick when he took the reins at United Way in 1995 as its president, according to Richard Pogue, a senior adviser at Jones Day who
K. Michael Benz, who will step down this summer, has led the United Way of Greater Cleveland for 17 years. FILE PHOTO/ JASON MILLER
has long been active in civic affairs and chaired the search committee that hired Mr. Benz. For one, there had been an issue about whether to hire someone from within the United Way system, but the organization desperately needed someone at the time who could better engage Cleveland’s business community — something, Mr. Pogue believed, Mr. Benz could do quite well. “We needed to strengthen the ties between the United Way and the business leadership of the day, and I thought he brought that skill to the table.” Mr. Pogue said. “He had empathy for the needy, but also had the ability to understand business objectives and business methodology.” However, the organization Mr. Benz plans to leave in the coming months is one that he and others in the community say is much stronger — both financially and in spirit — than the one he inherited when he first came on board. “It’s a very stable organization now,” Mr. Pogue added. “It’s got good staff people and good morale. He’s strengthened it and made it more steady and reliable.” Mr. Benz’s job hasn’t come without its struggles, particularly over the last four years as the region, and the country as a whole, weathered an economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression. While the human service agencies clamored for more United Way
Minority biomed summit set for Cleveland Biotech assistance location for the ON THE WEB Story from group BioEnterprise www.CrainsCleveland.com. first-ever Minority Corp. and a partner Biomedical plan to stage in Cleveland what they Entrepreneurship Conference,” said describe as the nation’s first Minority Baiju R. Shah, president and CEO of Biomedical Entrepreneurship BioEnterprise and co-chair of the Conference. conference, in a statement. “The The conference is set for May entrepreneurial environment is one 21-22. Also involved in its planning that embraces and provides an is The America21 Project, a minority unparalleled support network to innovation and competitiveness biomedical innovators.” initiative. Conference planners said attendees The purpose of the conference, will be offered mentoring opportuniaccording to organizers, is to address ties with industry leaders and investors, the issue of underrepresentation entrepreneurship education, and and to increase minority competipractical advice on starting and tiveness in the biomedical sector. growing a biomedical company. Keynoting the conference will be Entrepreneurs looking for financing Dr. Frank Douglas, president of the also will be afforded the opportunity Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron. to present before a group of seasoned “Cleveland, with its rapidly growing biomedical investors. biomedical industry and nationally To view the complete conference recognized research, clinical and agenda and to register, visit educational institutions, is the ideal www.minoritybiomedical.org.
dollars as demand for their services increased amid the economic woes of recent years, Mr. Benz said the fundraising environment was equally difficult. However, those relationships with the business community he and his organization brokered helped the organization and the agencies it
serves weather that storm. For one, the United Way has met its fundraising goals over the last three years, which Mr. Benz added was no small feat. “We call on (our donors) in the last minute and say we have this gap, and they get it,” said Mr. Benz, who has steered 18 campaigns at the United Way that have netted a
Carol Rivchun first met Mr. Benz in the early 1970s when she worked at her family’s jewelry store, Rivchun Jewelers, in the Cleveland City Club building on Euclid Avenue. At the time, he led the Council of Smaller Enterprises, and she noted he was just as dedicated to this community then as he is today. “Cleveland is a tough environment and it takes a tough guy to lead in that type of environment,” said Ms. Rivchun, now president of Youth Opportunities Unlimited, a United Way-funded agency that helps young people find jobs. “He’s one of those people that keeps a community like ours moving forward.” And while his career at the United Way is coming to a close, Mr. Benz has no intention of abandoning his role as a cheerleader for the city. After all, during his lengthy career he’s seen his native city’s highs and lows — from the economic boom of the mid-1990s to the economic turmoil of recent years. “It’s time to start talking about the good news again,” Mr. Benz said. “That may be part of what I do in the future.” ■