20151005-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
10/2/2015
4:08 PM
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VOL. 36, NO. 40
A CLOSER LOOK: Supply chains How companies make, distribute products
OCTOBER 5 - 11, 2015
Business of Life:
35th Anniversary
Progressive’s collection
P. 3
The insurance company uses art as inspiration
TECHNOLOGY: Buying in Berea business is on a hiring spree
P. 26-27
P. 4
FOCUS: Finance These aren’t your father’s bank tellers P. 17-25
The List
CLEVELAND BUSINESS
The region’s largest nursing homes P. 31
Building a better board BY CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com @ChuckSoder
RICHARD BORGE
Back in 2013, Jacqueline Woods couldn’t help but wonder how people would react to The Timken Co.’s plan to split itself in two. And though she sits on Timken’s board, she wasn’t just concerned about shareholders — the people she’s legally bound to serve. Woods was worried that employees wouldn’t really understand why the company was spinning off its steel production business. Or be able to explain it to their family and friends. So she made it her goal to ensure sure that “whether you were a community leader or a next-door neighbor, you knew what was going on.” Woods admits that she brings her emotions with her when she attends board meetings. Is that because she’s a woman? Maybe, maybe not. One thing, however, is for certain: At public companies in Northeast Ohio, there aren’t many board members who see the world through a woman’s eyes. The average board has just one female director — or 1.24 to be exact, according to the most recent proxy statements filed by all 59 of Northeast Ohio’s public companies. That average board has
This is the first of a two-part series about the people who control some of the most powerful organizations in Northeast Ohio: the board members of public companies. This week, we’re writing about how diverse those boards are in terms of gender, age and race. The data come from proxy statements filed each year by all 59 public companies in Northeast Ohio, as well as an email survey. Those proxy statements also describe how board members are compensated. We’ll look into that next week.
about eight male members. Thus, women hold 13% of all public company board seats in the region. Not a huge percentage, but it’s right in line with the average for the U.S. companies that make up the Russell 3000 Index. Still, none of the board members who spoke with Crain’s were totally overjoyed about those numbers. After all, roughly a third of the companies — mostly smaller ones — had no female directors at all. Most local boards remain packed with older white males (see other stories in this package to learn how local companies faired in the race and age diversity categories). Woods, however, highlighted the positive. For instance, the larger companies in the region usually had multiple female directors. KeyCorp had the most with five. The J.M. CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
The ‘tide has turned’ in construction BY STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com @CrainRltywriter
For the folks in construction — from the ones behind the orange barrels maddeningly clogging Cleveland streets with traffic to the nail gunners who frame single family homes — the good times are going again.
Set against the worst building market since the end of World War II and blues that went with it just five years ago, it’s a stark turnaround. To prove it, ask Roger Gingerich, partner-in-charge of the real estate and construction group at Mayfield Village-based Skoda Minotti accounting and financial advisory firm. As the orchestrator of a survey of construction company owners and ex-
ecutives since 2008, he has the numbers to prove it in the just-completed 2015 survey. In 2010, lack of work was a threat to their business for 69% of the respondents. This year, it is an issue for just 14%. The leading worry this year also is telling, as securing skilled labor is considered the biggest threat for 39% of the contractors. Concerns are closely spread among five other
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factors. “It shows the tide has turned,” Gingrich said in an interview. “Everyone said it was going to be a slow recovery, and it has been a painful process. By far this is the most optimism we have seen in Northeast Ohio since the Great Recession.” Asked to assess the next three years for the building business in Northeast Ohio, 69% see more op-
portunities in Northeast Ohio, a big shift from the 27% in 2009, the low mark for the surveys. Conversely, 49% of respondents in 2009 saw less opportunity over the next three years in the region, while just 8% say that is the case this year. Jason Jones, general manager of New York City-based Turner Construction Co.’s Northeast Ohio SEE CONSTRUCTION, PAGE 30